Towers and Bells of Britain€¦ · towers in our sense, but nave towers, i.e., the tower itself in a few cases · forming the nave of the original Saxon church, th{ ground stage

Towers and Bellsof Britain

by

Ernest Morris

File 03 – Part Two, West towers, Twin towers,Triple towers, Spires, Truncated spires, Round towers

Octagonal towers – Pages 96 to 149

This document is provided for you by

The Whiting Society of Ringersvisit

www.whitingsociety.org.ukfor the full range of publications and articles about bells and change ringing

Part Two

WEST TOWERS

SOME of the Saxon churches had no tower, or at least no tower. as an integral part of the structure, as may be seen in the complete and, still existing examples at Bradford-on-Avon, Wilts., Escomb, Durham, and Barfreston, Kent. The Saxon church at Worth, Sussex, a cruci­form building, was also towerless, though a western tower with spire was added in later times. Bell towers were, however, built in this country as early as the seventh century, for there were towers for bells at Hexham (A.D. 674) as related by Eddias the biographer of Wilfrid. The usual place of a Saxon tower was at the west end of the church. In Lincolnshire, which is rich in remains of pre-Conquest buildings, · about three-quarters of the number of churches which show Saxon work have it in the western towers. Some were not exactly western . towers in our sense, but nave towers, i.e., the tower itself in a few cases · forming the nave of the original Saxon church, th{ ground stage forming the principal interior space as at Broughton and Barton-on­Humber, Lines. The exceptions to the prevailing arrangements with the tower are comparatively few, but central towers, i.e., towers be­tween nave and chancel (either with or without transepts) are found at Dover, Kent; Stow, Lines.; Breamore, Hants; and Norton, Durham. Of Anglo-Saxon western towers, about So still remain, of which 50 are in East Anglia, Lines., Yorks., Durham and Northumberland. In Saxon churches of the ninth and tenth centuries the western tower was employed primarily for bells, and its form closely resembled that of · the Italian campanile. This remained the English arrangement in the succeeding styles for the tower of a parish church. It could also be used as a defensive refuge in times of danger, and was thus often built without a staircase, and with only minor openings in the lower stages. In the Netherlands the term " beffroi " was used to describe a tower of refuge, and had no reference to a bell tower or belfry. The latter form is probably a corruption which came into use in later times when bells were hung in the tower. There is no doubt whatever that many towers were built for defensive purposes. Even so late as

¢

WEST TOWER.S 97 the thirteenth century, towers were provided for this purpose in the turbulent borders of Scotland and Wales, and the same applied to towers on the east coast in pre-Norman days. Many of the round towers of Suffolk and Norfolk are of the period of the Danish invasions and built for defence. "From the fury of the Northmen, good Lord deliver us" was one of the petitions in our Litany. Some of these towers exhibit features which point to a defensive origin. They have no openings near the ground; all the lower-storey windows have nar­row openings which are few in number; none has a doorway, but all have on their eastern face a narrow arched opening cut straight through the wall. The sill of this is never less than ten feet from the ground, aild often much more.

Some notable instances of towers built for defence may be found in the North Riding of Yorkshire. Four of the towers of that district­Bedale, Masham, Middleham and Thornton Watlass-are provided with upper chambers, each having a fire-place. At Bedale at the foot of the tower staircase was a portcullis, the existence of which was un­known until it fell from the effects of a stroke of lightning. Manfield and Melsonby in the same Riding have also been planned with a view to defence or as a refuge during raids. At Great Salkeld, Cumberland, the only door of the tower opens into the nave and is iron plated to­wards the church, whilst inside it is nearly covered with iron bars. Mr. J. E. Morris (Little Guide to West Riding) states that at Wads­worth there was formerly two chambers on the roofs of the aisles­one on each side of the west tower-and approached therefrom. These were "stupidly destroyed at some so-called restoration", but traces of them still remain.

A good example of a fortified church tower is at St. Stephen, Old Radnor, near the Welsh border. It is strongly built and has three large windows on the south side, one on the west and two on the north. The turret on the north-east corner was used for a beacon­light, parts of the iron cradle were there some years ago but have now gone. Access to the turret must have been by ladder. At each of the other three corners a small stone platform was let into the wall, about four or five feet from the landing roof, on which a man could stand and look out for approaching danger. On the Glamorgan coast-a district much harrassed by sea-rovers in former times-is the very fine fortified tower of Newton Nottage. This is a west tower, massive in appearance like so many of the towers in South Wales, though of no great height. It is finished with a gabled roof within a parapet. But it is unique in that it retains, high up on its eastern face, the stone supports

H

TOWERS AND BELLS OF BRITAIN

of a wooden boarding or covered gallery which commanded the nave roof, and from which the defenders, themselves under cover, could discharge their arrows at the attacking forces. The wooden structure has long since disappeared, but the doorway which gave access to it from within the tower may still be seen in the eastern face just above the line of stone projections upon which the wooden structure rested. At one time the tower had four ancient bells, but in 19Q6 these were recast and two new ones added, making a ring of six.

The tower of Whissendine, Rutland, is considered one of the best examples of Decorated style. It is massive and to the top of the pin­nacles is 100 ft. high, and no doubt served as a watch tower in feudal times, for within each of the pinnacle bases is room for two men to stand, and there are also apertures in the pinnacles and in the para­pet. The west side of the tower is decorated throughout, and the arrangement of the belfry windows on the west and south sides pro­vides for the internal turret staircase.

The fourteenth-century tower of Rugby, Warwicks. (see section on towers and spires), shows by its exceptional construction that the idea of defence was in the mind of the builders. The tower is without a single sustaining buttress. The lower windows are far from the ground and so narrow as to be little more than loopholes, whilst the only entrance is from the body of the church. It also has a fire-place, the smoke shaft of which is carried up through the thickness of the wall to the battle­ments.

Sometimes the tower served as a dwelling place for the parish priest and others. At Brixworth and Deerhurst there are windows looking into the nave from quite high in the tower, which never could have served a useful purpose in lighting either the church or the tower chamber. The flues and fire-places in the Norfolk towers of Billockby T hornage, and others, may have been used for baking the communion , wafers, but more likely they indicate a former dwelling as may have been the case at All Saints', Leicester. It is well known that in medire~ val times our churches were used to store a variety of goods for the parishioners-they were the safe deposits of the day. That the lower chambers of our towers were used in this way is shown by the com­pletely iron-bound doors still existing to many tower stairs, chiefly at the bottom of the stairs as at Cotton and Hemingstone, Suffolk; but sometimes actually at the door of the chamber as at Bredfield.

At Cavendish the first-floor chamber was probably a sacristan's room, for a fire-place exists in the south-west corner, with the flue carried up above the parapet, and four windows exist, all retaining their original

WEST TOWERS 99 shutters. The large chamber in the Norman central tower of Brans­combe, Devon, was undoubtedly once occupied; that under the bells at Penkivel, Cornwall, has a small altar for the private use of the priest. Other instances might be quoted. In some towers there were apparendy fire-places in the lower storey, such as at Great Bradley, the flue of which has a baffled oudet externally about 16ft. from the ground.

By far the most common position of the western towers is central, e.g., at the end of the nave. Sometimes to aisles continued along the north and south sides, sometimes only its eastern side is engaged. When the tower is engaged within the fabric following an extension of the nave, three of its sides are supported on arches, those on the north and south opening into the aisles as at Grantham and Ewerby, Lines.; St. Margaret, Leicester; Newark-upon-Trent; Sleaford, Lines., and on a smaller scale at Culworth, Northants., and many other places. Some­times, as at Keyworth, Notts., Milford, Hants., and elsewhere, the aisles are extended as lean-to additions to the tower walls which are pierced by small arches. Again, where the tower is not engaged, it is made to stand upon open arches so that it becomes a porch-tower, its ground floor forming a projecting western porch to the church. Examples of this can be seen at Coningsby, Lines.; St. Mary, March, Carobs.; Diss, Norfolk; St. Peter, Mancroft, Norwich; Dedham, Essex; Wrotham, Kent; All Saints, Cambridge; St. Mary, Warwick.

This arrangement was sometimes adopted either to enable proces­sions, which could not leave consecrated ground, to make the complete outdoor circuit of the church, or else, as at Warwick, where a public highway approached the site. The latter was also the cause of external vaulted passages beneath chancels, as at Hythe, Kent; and Walpole St. Peter, Norfolk.

The great scale of the English western towers is in a large number of cases noteworthy, as in the towers of Somerset, Norfolk and Suffolk, at Wrexham, Denbigh, and Boston, Lines. (which latter is the loftiest tower in this country, exceeding by a few feet the great central tower of Lincoln Cathedral, which comes next on the list). Of western towers with a spire, that of St. Michael's, Coventry, is only inferior in height to the spires of Salisbury and Norwich Cathedrals, whilst that of the parish churches of Newark, Grantham and Louth with some others are of lofty proportions. Somerset is as famous for towers as Northants. is for spires. They cluster thickly round the Mendips and carry, as a general rule, some of the finest heavy rings of bells in this country. Those of Banwell; Cheddar; Chewton Mendip; and Wrington are among the best. Not less fine towers are at Evercreech; II minster;

100 TOWERS AND BE.LLS OF BB.IT.IN

Leigh Mendip; Mell.r; Glastonbury; TtJunton and others too numerous to mention. None, however, excels that of St. Cuthbert, Wells, which is designed by a master hand, though Wrington and Evercreech run very close.

One of the grandest and richest is Wrexham, referred to above. The present church was finished in 1472, and was the third structure to be built on the site. The first was blown down in a gale in 1331, and the second was destroyed by fire in 1457. The tower, which is a fine example of Perpendicular architecture, is 135 ft. high, and the exterior is decorated with sculptured life-size figures of thirty saints, among whom is St. Giles, to whom the church is dedicated. It is one of the seven wonders of Wales, which are rhymed as follows:

Pistyll Rhaiader and W rexham steeple, Snowdon's mountain, without its people; Overton yew trees, St. Winifred wells, Llangolen bridge, and Gresford bells."

The church has close connection ~ith Yale University in Connecticut, U.S.A., as Elihu Yale, founder of this famous University, is buried in Wrexham churchyard. Yale University tower is built as an exact replica of it, and incorporated in its base is a stone from the original W rexham tower.

Some towers rise in absolute simplicity to a sumptuous crowning storey as at Tickhill, Yorks.; whilst others have the ornament checked until the final battlements and pinnacles, where it bursts forth in a riot of fretted stonework as at Dundry, Som.; Thornbury, Glos., and elsewhere.

Like the Somerset group, another well-defined group of towers, with marked characteristics, is in East Anglia. Many were built in the Per­pendicular period of bold and massive proportions, and in the majority of cases are western towers with a western doorway in ground stage, as :tt Cromer, Wymondham, Lavenham, Southwold, and Blythburgh. A number of East Anglia towers were never completed and finish in an abrupt horizontal line, the parapet having never been added-East Dereham, Beccles, and others. A similar unfinished tower is at Whil­wick, Leics.; and St. Peter-in-the-East, Oxford, is of this type•

STAIR TURRETS

In small churches, access to the ringers' chamber and the bell

WEST TOWERS IOI

chamber was usually by ladder. A few original ladders remain. There is one at Ardingly, Sussex, massive in the extreme. At Knighton, Leicester, were two ancient ladders kept on the tower walls, but not used of late years. These have now unfortunately been destroyed, as being worm-eaten, which was a great pity, for they were types of ancient craft now rapidly disappearing. A huge ladder of a similar type and date is still in use at Claybrook, Leics., and in the same county, at Appleby Magna, a most quaint ladder leads from the ringers' chamber to the room above. It is composed of crude roughly-hewn beams, and the " steps " are triangular chunks of oak, nailed on to these-very primitive in execution. In the Norman church of Kirkburn, Yorks., there is an open stairway of stone which ascends the south wall of the nave to the western tower, then it turns and crosses to the west wall. In the Anglo-Saxon church of Brixworth, Northants., there is a semi­circular stair turret on the west side of the west tower. This church is a large basilican of the seventh century with modifications in later Saxon, the lowest part of the tower being c. 68o. The tower is built at right angles to the west wall, set obliquely to the nave, and measures internally 21 ~ ft. north to south. Its lower stage formerly formed the porch of the seventh-century church, from which it is entered by a large wide archway with semi-circular head of Roman brick. Similar semi­circular stairways attached to the centre face of the tower are at Brig­stock, Northants.; Hough-on-the-Hill, Lines.; Broughton, Lanes.; Newton-Nottage, Glam.; and in the ruins at North Elmham, Norfolk.

The Hough-on-the-Hill turret is Saxon and has a number of small lights of varying shapes, and contains a remarkable newel stairway winding round a stone post which is about r8 in. thick for the greater part of its length. This turret is reached by a square-headed doorway inside the tower, and its old stone steps lead to a gable-headed doorway now leading to the bell chamber. There are two Saxon windows in the second stage of the tower. There is a square Anglo­Saxon stair-turret on the south side of the west tower of Minster, Thanet; and an unusual one also attaches itself to the tower of Ewrys­Harold, Hereford. That attached to the central tower of Leonard Stan­ley, Glos., is unusual. In some instances the central external stair­case goes right up to the battlements as at Ashburton, Devon; Welling­ton, Som.; Shepdam, Norfolk; Beaminster, Dorset; Stanton, Oxon.; and elsewhere. The very singular stairway at Tamworth, Staffs., is worthy of special note. The unknown architect who planned the tower was not only a daring engineer, but a master craftsman, with a wonderful sense of proportion. It was originally intended to crown th~

!02 TOWERS AND BELLS OF BRITAIN

work with a lofty spire, but fortunately the builder stopped in time­probably owing to the settlement of the south-east corner. Instead of the spire they set pinnacles upon each angle buttress. In spite of its massiveness, however, the tower is not so stable as it looks. When it was a-building, the Wars of the Roses was at its height, and no one could see the end thereof. One known reason for the tower's peculiar construction was in order to give the town's watchman better vantage points, the walls being simply honeycombed with passages built into their thickness, communicating with vaulted chambers set inside the buttresses, from which loop-holes give commanding views of the town and neighbourhood. These passages and rooms, to which one must add the three very fine windows in the vestibule, are a great source of weakness. Also, one must reluctantly add, is the unique double­spiral stairway, running the whole height of the south-west angle. Tamworth church tower is famous for this stairway, it being the only one of its kind in England, if we except the somewhat similar con­struction of modest dimensions at Much Wenlock Priory. Dr. Plot, writing in the seventeenth century, describes the staircase as "the most unusual piece of stonework, and the most extraordinary ~f any piece of ecclesiastical building, that I have met with being made of a double cochlea within the same cylinder, both winding about the same pillar or newel, over one another, so that the floor of one is the roof of the other ... nor could I perceive any inconveniencing in it, but that the stairs were somewhat deeper, and the ascent more steep, than ordinary, as indeed the nature of the thing required, for it being necessary that the floors and roofs should be distant at least a man's height, one must needs ascend in a single revolution of the cochlea or spiral twice the height of a man ".

The reason for this architectural curiosity is obv~ous apart from the fortress-like construction of the tower. This staircase, which has two independent entrances, one from the inside, and the other from the outside of the church, gave access to the tower from the churchyard without invading the sanctity of the church. One person may ascend and another descend, simultaneously, without meeting!

Some towers have been heightened in later times-as at Gedney, Lines.: where it is Early English with Perpendicular heightening. Some show as many as three or four different styles in successive stages. If a tower has more than three stages, it is likely that the fourth was an afterthought, except in Somerset where four stages is the rule · in the finer towers. It is not always safe to say that the upper stages are later than the lower. There are many exceptions, strange though this

WEST TOWERS 103

may seem. Many central towers stand on arches inserted at a later date, for instance-Norton, Co. Durham, and Cholsey and rare instances are known where the spire is of earlier date than the tower which supports it.

Early Norman towers sometimes received an additional stage within a brief space. Castor, Northants., is a magnificent example of this, and here the upper stage was certainly not contemplated when the tower was first built. In any case, tower building was slow work, the upper stages are often much later in style than the lower. An interest­ing and unusual case of alteration is that of Much Wenlock where the west fapde was richly ornamented with arcading, the tower apparendy having been planned on the south side. However, late in the Norman period, the south tower was abandoned and a west tower built, com­pletely obscuring the beauties of the older fapde.

Western towers were sometimes added to a pre-Conquest church­for instance at Stottesdon, Compton, W omerston and Saxthorpe, where the long and short quoins of the western angle of the nave are good evidence of pre-Conquest date; but the towers, though early, are of later date, showing no pre-Conquest features whatever. It was far more common to find a pre-Conquest tower has been heightened, particu­larly so in the round towers of East Anglia.

One of the most perfect specimens of a Saxon tower is at Earls Bar­ton, Northants. The Victoria History states: "It is generally agreed to be both the finest existing specimen of pre-Conquest work and the most noteworthy architectural monument of its period in England."

It was built in the first half of the eleventh century, a fine example of strength and stability. Throughout its long period it has contained bells, for at the time of its erection rings of bells were already known in our church towers, and in the opinion of archa:ologists its original ob­ject was to contain bells. It now has an octave with a tenor of 12 cwt.

A characteristic of the towers of this period is the " long-and-short" work at the angles. This feature is clearly seen at St. Michael's, Oxford; Brigstock and Earls Barton. Saxon towers are-as a rule­without ornamentation, but on the outer walls of some structures of the period occur vertical courses of stone, of slight projection, very narrow in width, and placed at unequal intervals. These are usually referred to as " Pilaster strips ". The best and richest examples are at Earls Barton, Barnack and Barton-on-Humber.

TWIN TOWERS

Two western towers are shown in an Exeter seal of 1133 and may be those of the Anglo-Saxon Cathedral, restored in 1020. In the larger Romanesque churches, both of Normandy and England, two western towers are common-the Abbayes-aux-Hommes and aux-Dames, South­well, Melbourne, Canterbury, Durham, Lincoln. But it seldom hap­pened that the completion of the nave to the west was not postponed and when at length taken in hand again, no towers were erected in the fapde. Whatever the reason, it is a fact that many churches of great magnitude are without western towers.

In most cases, if there are two towers, they are usually placed at the west end of the aisles. Instances occur where there is a central tower and a single western tower occupying the centre of the fa~ade, as at Ely, Wymondham, Wimborne, Christchurch, Hants., Shrewsbury Abbey, Waltham, Malmesbury, Bangor, Lewes.

When all three towers have been carried up, as at Lincoln, ,Canter­bury, Wells, Southwell, York, Durham, they are very impressive.

Besides the churches · which possess both tower and tower with spire separately, there are a number also which have two towers-not always identical in structure or architecture like Westminster Abbey or say Worksop Priory, but sometimes quite distinct in every feature of style, shape and height. The fascinating feature in the study of church towers is-like that of the churches themselves-no two examples are ever alike, though occasionally they may be similar.

In taking the subject of twin towers one naturally turns to West­minster Abbey as the most famous, it being the burial place of so many ·. Sovereigns and other illustrious personages, the scene of the Corona­tions of Kings and Queens since Harold, and that of innumerable other national ceremonies. Officially it is the Collegiate Church of St. Peter in Westminster. Its early history and that of the Benedictine Monastery associated with it are shrouded in legend. The first church of which . record exists stood in the eighth century to the west of the present struc­ture, and was dedicated to St. Peter. It has been rebuilt and recon­structed many times in the succeeding centuries. From 1540-50 the abbey was a cathedral with a bishop. The present church is cruciform with an extreme length of 5II ft., the nave being 166 ft. long and 101 ft. 8 in. high. There is a lantern tower at the intersection of the transepts

104

P/atel3 . BEV E RLEY MINSTER, YORKS. SirG. GilbertScott terms this as " the finest Gothic church in the world " (Page 107)

Plate 14. DURHAM C ATHEDRAL . Central tower 218 feet high, West towers l44 feet high. The " lancet" work on the tower is imp;)sed on the original Norman architecture, among the finest of

the period in England . (Page 123)

Plate 15. ELY CATHEDRAL . West tower 215 feet high with a light ring of five bells. This cathedral has the finest central octagonal

lantern in England. (PaRe 145)

Plate 16 LIN C OLN

C ATHEDRAL The central tower is the third highest in Eng­land- 27 L feet. "Great Tom" and quarter bells are in this tower. The South-west tower has a

ring of twelve bells. (Page 122)

TWIN TOWE:R.S

which rises to 151 ft. The main entrance is at the west end, and here are the twin towers, each 225 ft. 4 in. high. They are in the pseudo­Gothic style, completed in 1739 from designs left by Sir Christopher Wren, and in the north tower is a ring of eight bells, tenor 28 cwt. Originally Westminster Abbey had a detached bell tower situated a little distance north-west of the building near the old Sanctuary, on the site once occupied by the Westminster Hospital. From an old engrav­ing (reproduced in my book History and Art of Change Ringing, p. 580) it appears to have resembled the old campanile of Salisbury Cathedral, which was demolished about the end of the eighteenth century. How many bells the Westminster bell tower contained at the time of its demolition has not been ascertained, but the third, fifth and seventh bells of the present ring must have hung there originally.

Dean Stanley, in his Memorials of Westminster Abbey (quoting from an old record), remarks with regard to the bells and campanile, "here hung the Abbey bells, which remained there till Wren had completed the Western Towers (i.e. 1739) and which rang for coronation, and tolled for royal funerals. ' Their ringings,' men said, ' soured all the drink in the town.' " The bells must have been removed to their present position in the north-west tower some time between 1739 and 1750, the sanctuary and the old bell-tower being demolished at the latter date.

There was a ringing of six here until 1919, when two new "Peace" bells were added, and the actual casting of these were witnessed by the

· King and Queen at Whitechapel Foundry. It is of historic interest also to note that the same foundry placed one of the bells in the original tower in 1583, and all the other bells from time to time since the days of Robert Mot. The old six bells were dated (first) ascribed to Richard de Wymbish about 1310: (second) 1743 T. Lester: (third) 1583 R. Mot: (fourth) 1743 T. Lester: (fifth) 1598 R. Mot: (Tenor) 1738 R. Phelps and T. Wester. The second, being cracked, was recast, but the treble was replaced by a new bell; the old one-a wonderful fourteenth-century relic-was happily preserved in the Abbey.

The four front bells are new, and the four back ones are old. The old wood frame was removed and a new steel frame erected, and all the bells fitted with new stocks, bearings, etc. The new octave was dedicated on June 3rd, 1919, and on July sth of that year the first peal, 5,040 Stedman Triples, was rung in 3 hours 18 minutes by mem­bers of the Ancient Society of College Youths, conducted by the late Challis F. Winney.

Inverness Cathedral (St. Andrew's) also has twin towers at its west

106 TOWERS AND BELLS OF BRITAIN

end, both identical in design and height. It is the cathedral of the diocese of Moray, Ross and Caithness, and was erected 1866--g. In 18]7 eleven bells, comprising a ring of eight and three semi-tones, were installed by Messrs. J. Warner and Sons, of the Spitalfields Bell Foundry. These were rehung in new fittings after being retuned, and a chiming apparatus fixed by the same firm in 1914.

Similarly Worksop Priory Church, Nottinghamshire, has twin western towers of identical design. Formerly an Augustinian Monas­tery founded in 1103, it is dedicated to St. Mary and St. Cuthbert. To reach the ringing chamber one ascends first one tower, then crosses over to the other. It is thus described: Access is through a door in the south aisle wall under the south tower, from which a spiral staircase leads up 26 steps to the triforium level. Just before reaching this level a door on the right leads to the lower clock chamber. The passage then opens out at the base of the great west window with a fine view eastward down the church. Crossing over to the north tower a similar passage leads through a door forward to the spiral staircase for the ascent to the bell chamber and the top of this tower. A door to the right-before the ascent-up two steps leads to the ringing chamber. Here is a ring of eight bells by J. Warner and Sons, 1883, with a tenor approximately 15 cwt. In Dukery Records, by Robert White, it is stated that certain monies were collected "in the thyrd and iiijth yeres of the Reynes of our souereyne lorde and lady kyng Phyllype and Quene Mary" for casting the bells and making the bell frame.

At King's Lynn, Norfolk, St. Margaret's Church also possesses twin western towers, both 86 ft. high, but not identical in design or dimen­sions. One of these western towers once had a spire, which fell in 1741, destroying the nave and top o'f the central lantern. There are many memorials here, including the two largest Flemish brasses in England, one to Adam de Walsoken (d. 1349) and the other to Robert Braunche, Mayor of Lynn (d. 1364). In 1552 there were five bells here of 10, 14, 18, 22 and 28 cwt. Mackerell tells us that the great bell was called "The Margaret and was for her curious sound one of the finest of that kind, and might be heard (the wind favouring, as I have been assur'd) full ten miles distant. Others had likewise their distinct names as the Trinity, the St. Thomas, etc., so christn'd, I suppose, as was usual before the Reformation. But the biggest and the least of these was purposely broken, and with some addition cast into others, to make a ring of Eight, which was effected in the year 1663, as they remain to this day." He also tells us that the fourth bell was new cast in 1627 by Draper, of Thetford, yet in 1673 the two great bells were called the Margaret and

TWIN TOWERS IO'J

Thomas, as appears from the churchwardens' accounts for that year. As late as 1752 the seventh and eighth bells still went by those names. There is now a ring of ten bells with a tenor 30 cwt. in C.

Another church with twin western towers, both different in style, is that of St. German's, Cornwall. The south tower is square, but the north tower is octagonal in its upper stages. The former contains a ring of eight bells, six cast in 1775 and two added by Messrs. Mears and Stainbank in 1913, when all were rehung in a new steel and iron frame, this work being carried out by Mr. John Thomas. It is said that in ancient times there was a ring of bells in the north tower, but to-day there are none. Ringing here is done from the ground floor, and as the tower is " built in " and on the corner of the church it is open on two sides, standing on these sides on two great arches, thus exposing the ringers to the view of the congregation.

The glorious Minster of Beverley, Yorkshire, has twin towers at its west end as well as the beginning of a central tower at the crossing of the transepts. Although Beverley is not a cathedral, its minster is certainly worthy to be ranked as such. Maybe some day, when our dioceses are again divided, it may have a Bishop of its own. The west front is one of the finest examples of the Perpendicular style in England, and consists of two towers flanking a large window, above which is a high gable, and below, a deeply recessed door. Many have sung the praises of Beverley Minster, and Sir Gilbert Scott declared that "it is the finest Gothic Church in the world". The foundation of the minster is traditionally ascribed to Lucius, the first Christian king, in the year 157, but its reliable history commences in the year ~o. Soon after this, the church on this spot, dedicated to St. John-the-Evangelist, was rebuilt by St. John of Beverley, who lies buried in the nave, to­gether with Brithunus, the first abbot. It was destroyed by the Danes in Boo, and later, after rebuilding, was partly destroyed by fire in n88. From this time the present stately structure dates, and occupied about 200 years in reconstruction.

Of the early bells, it is stated in Beverlac by S. Poulson, 1829: "A.D.

1050. Kinsius, Archbishop of York, the next Prelate, who became a benefactor to the church, was a man of great austerity who walked barefoot in his parochial visitations. He built the high tower to the church of Beverley, and placed two great bells in it." (He gave the two bells of the same mould to Southwell and two more to the Church of Stowe ... Drake, page 41.)

The inventory of 1552 gives, "Item seze belles." There remained six until 1747, when T. Lester added two trebles and recast the then

Io8 TOWERS AND BELLS OF BRITAIN

fifth bell. These bells are now replaced by the glorious ring of ten with a tenor 41 cwt. 1 qr. 20 lb. in C, which hang iri the north-west tower, while in the south-west tower hangs the bourdon "Great John", weighing 7 tons 3 qr. 1 lb. with a diameter of 7ft. 3 in. Note G. In this tower also are the ancient bells, "Peter" (The Prayer Bell) and "Brithunus" by Johannes de Stafford about 1330, and the inscription rings of two other bells of 1663 and 1747. The Yorkshire Association Report, describing these bells, says :

" The reader will wonder when he reads that a bell of such a weight as this Bourdon is raised and rung with ease. The hanging of it must be truly magnificent. The tenor of the ring of ten in the north tower is something, we may suppose, like the back ten of St. Peter Mancroft and St. Michael's, Cornhill. All the bells, as well as 'Great John' are from the Loughborough Foundry, and are held to be among Messrs. Taylor's greatest triumphs."

Yorkshire has another glorious church with twin western towers­that of the priory church at Bridlington. Here the towers are quite different in height and architecture, that on the north being finished with a flat cornice, whereas the south tower goes on much higher and is crowned by open battlements and four tall crocketed pinnacles at the corners with four smaller ones in between. Of bells here, we read that at the inventory of Edward VI (1558) there were at "Birdling­stone ... Item iij belles and ij handbells." There remained three bells until 1902, when Messrs. J. Taylor and Co. installed a new ring of eight in an iron frame. The old bells had these interesting couplets in­scribed on them:

(1) "To songs of praise, to wake ye village rounde: For light restored, is heard my silver sound."

(2) "Nor joy nor grief employs my peaceful voice, Mine 'tis in consort only to rejoice."

(3) "To speak a parting soul is given to me, Be trimm'd thy lamp, as if I toll'd for thee."

Wimborne Minster, Dorset, has two separate towers placed in an .un­usual position. The church is cruciform in plan, and one tower is in the centre, while the other, built three centuries later and containing the bells, is ai: the west end. The height of the central tower is 84 ft., while that of the west one is 95 ft., breadth of nave 54 ft., and across the transepts it is 1o6 ft.

The central or Norman tower, with its interlacing arches on its faces,

TWIN TOWEllS 109 is worthy of notice:. The corbels above are very quaint, one showing the head of a man gnawing a bone. Until 1686 Wimborne had but five bells, but in that year a sixth was added, and 170 years later-in x856--they were increased to eight.

The two small bells (in addition to the peal) in one of the windows of the north wall of the western tower, upon which the military or "jack" strikes the quarter hours in connection with the clock, having been found to be cracked, were recast in 1911 in correct harmony with the peal. The figure itself, which apparently was made in 1613, an entry in the church accounts of that year recording " Item to one of Blandford for carving the Jacke 10s.", was also repainted in the uniform of the Grenadier Guards of a century ago.

At the same time, i.e., in 1911, the ring was increased to ten by the addition of two trebles by Messrs. Gillett and Johnston, who also recast the old bells, reproducing the ancient inscriptions. The whole were rehung in a new iron frame with all new fittings. The tenor is 29 cwt. 2 qr. 20 lb. and the old inscription (in Latin) reads" Mr. Wm. Loringe first made me in honour of St. Cuthberga. I was recast at the expense of the parish by Anthony Bond in the year 1629." The original date of the bell is not known, although surmised to be about 1385, as Mr. Loringe was (according to Hutchins) one of the canons of the Minister in the eighth year of Richard II., which was 8o years before the west -or bell-tower was built, and in all likelihood it hung in the lantern­or central-tower. It was recast in 1530 and again in 1629, the last time in the garden of Henry Allen near the churchyard, where a pit was dug and furnace constructed by Anthony Bond.

The old third had the apt phrase (in Latin): " I am the least bell here but to each little one is its own charm." On the two new trebles (also in Latin) are inscriptions to this effect: (1) "May Lioba's bell sound forth for many years," (2) "We render thanks to God for the Lady Margaret, foundress of the school and benefactress of this church."

St. Lioba, it may be noted, was the eminent Saxon saint who was educated here, and who rendered such material service to St. Boniface in the eighth century in the evangelism of Germany. Lady Margaret, Countess of Richmond and mother of Henry VII, originally founded the Grammar School. Her parents' tomb is of marble, situated on the south side of the chancel, and bearing the effigies of John de Beaufort, Duke of Somerset, grandson of John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, and his Duchess, Margaret, daughter of Sir John Beauchamp. To the pre8ence of this tomb, it is said, Wimborne was no doubt indebted for much of its old endowment.

no TOWERS AND BELLS OF BRITAIN

Blakeney Church, Norfolk, has two towers. The church is de&. cated to St. Nicholas, the Blessed Virgin Mary and St. Thomas of Canterbury. Of the towers, one is at the west end of the church and the other at the north-east angle of the chancel. The latter-and smaller of the tw<r--was probably used as a beacon. The west tower is embattled and rises 104 ft. The church stands among the trees on a hilltop, 115 ft. above the sea, and the slender tower at the north-east corner of the chancel used to shine a beacon light to guide those at sea. Both towers are of the fifteenth century and, inside, the west .tower opens to the nave with a soaring arch that would grace a cathedral. There were four bells here in Edward VI's time, but it appears from a faculty dated 18o2 " that the expense of re-roofing the chancel would be £309 x8s. 9d; that there were at Blakeney Church five bells, four where~ of were broken; that the chapel of Glenford had been in ruins many years, and that there were belonging to the said chapel one bell and twelve pigs of lead, which with four broken bells were worth £r2o ". There is now but one bell here inscribed: "Charles Newman made mee, 1~, LB., T.T., C.W."

At Wymondham, Norfolk, the church of SS. Mary the Virgin and Thomas of Canterbury has two towers. The church was formerly attached to the Abbey of SS. Mary and Alban, and is a noble edifice now consisting of the central tower (at present forming the eastern termination of the structure), a clerestoried nave of nine bays, aisles, north porch, and a stately western tower 142 ft. high, built 1445-76 with octagonal buttress turrets at the angles, containing a clock and eight bells. The choir, with its adjacent chapels, formed the conventional church, the nave and north aisles having been assigned in 1249 to the parishioners who, on account of disputes which arose as to the respective rights of the regular and secular clergy to ring their bells, erected the western tower.

William Plomer, of Wymondham, by will dated June 19th, 1535, " gave vnto the shotyng of the bell being at Norwich with the bel­fovnder xjs viijd ". In the will of John Drye, clerk, Vicar of Wymond­ham, dated October 12th, 1558, is the following: "Also I gyve unto the exchange and purchase of the bells XXs to be payd by myn executors vnto the chvrch wardeyns of the said churche as such tyme as the sayde bells shall be exchanged and perfightley hangen up in the steple of the sayde churche."

Up to 1903 there were five bells here, the treble and fourth by T. Newman of Norwich, dated 1739; the second, dated x6o6, the third by John Brand 1638, and tenor by John Brand, jun., 1653, weighing

TWIN TOWERS III

24~ cwt. In 1903 Messrs. John Warner and Sons recast the second, which was split, and added three trebles, making the ring to eight. There is also a clock bell by Warners, dated 1856.

The church of St. Mary the Virgin, Bruton, Somerset, whilst not exactly possessing twin towers, has, in addition to its stately western tower, a three-storey porch, which being battlemented, gives it the appearance of a second tower. This latter building has Perpendicular windows in its upper stage, and at its south-west corner is a square turret also embattled and rising above the merlons of the parapet. The west tower is strengthened by angle buttresses rising into crocketed pinnacles, and it has a pierced embattled parapet and octagonal turret at its north-east angle. It was repaired in I910, the inscriptions of the treble and second being very quaint, thus :

(I) "Once I'd a note that none could beare, But Bilbie made me sweet and clear (1752)."

(2) This is written all backwards and reads thus: " I am the first of those five,

Cries loud to those that are alive."

It is dated 1629, but the founder's name is not known.

(3) The third is also by Bilbie (1752) and says: " Pray ring the bells and praise the Lord,

With tuneful notes and sweet accord."

The fifth is dated 1618, and the fourth and tenor were pre-Reforma­tion Bells; fourth was an invocation to "Sancta Maria" and tenor to "Sancta Clemen". The latter was recast by C. and G. Mears of London, in 1848.

At Booton, Norfolk, there is the unusual feature of twin towers set diagonally to the main building. The lord of the manor at the end of the last century was a very remarkable man who was also Rector there for fifty years. He was the Rev. Whitwell Elwin, and we may think of him as a writer, preacher and builder, for he was editor of the Quarterly Review for seven years, and, not content with being the Rector of this place, pulled down the old church, distributed its treasures to churches around, and raised this many-pinnacled build­ing, sparing no expense to produce a masterpiece in accordance with the architectural standards of his day. Startling and unorthodox, with twin towers set cornerwise, and with great heights of its doors, it is

112 TOWER.S AND BELLS OP BR.ITAIN

redeemed for those who do not like it by the exquisite workmanship i1l its woodwork-doors, pews, stalls and panelling.

The church is dedicated to St. Michael and All Angels, and generoUII tribute is paid to them, for St. Michael stands with his sword ·in a niche over the porch and the angels are everywhere-in the windo'Wi and looking down from the hammer-beam roof. The windows ott one side of the nave have a cavalcade of twenty-two martyrs, and the windows looking at them have a lovely procession of sixteen angels witb wings and raiment in rich colours, every angel with a musical instru-: ment. In the vestry windows are twenty-one more angels also playing instruments, and angels dominate all the windows of the chancel.

Of the bells, all the information I have is that in 1824 the parishioners obtained a faculty authorizing them to sell three of their four bell$ which were cracked and weighed about 16 cwt. There are now two by J. Taylor and Co. (1898), the largest being about 6 cwt.

Although not actually possessing "twin" towers, the Garrison Church at Dover might come under this head. Dover Castle, Kent, originally a Roman fortress, has gradually arisen from Anglo-Saxon and Norman work. The pharos, or light tower, one of the most ancient portions of the structure, is manifestly of Roman workmanship, and was originally octagonal and about 14 paces across inside, the walls being no less than 10 ft. thick at the back and about 40 ft high: The towers are numerous and have been . built at different times, so"'\e of them being Norman, and in the centre of the keep is the massive. keep or palace tower.

The ancient Church of St. Mary, within the east precincts adjoining the pharos, is now used as the garrison church. It is believed to have been originally Romano-British work. It has a central tower with one bell, 29 in. in diameter, by Warner and Sons, 188o. Tradition says that in the seventeenth century there was a ring of six here, but whether they were in the church tower of the old Roman pharos-as Hastel states-is somewhat doubtful.

Tradition is equally contradictory as to the fate of the old ring. One authority states that Prince George of Denmark, at the intercession of­Admiral Rooke, caused them to be removed to Portsmouth and placed in the tower of St. Thomas's Church there. Another authority states that the order for removal to Portsmouth was never carried out, but that the bells went to St. Margaret at Cliffe. Neither of these tradi­tions is correct, for the date of Portsmouth bells disposed of the first, and St. Margaret at Cliffe only possesses one bell, and that of earlier date than the supposed transfer, thus disproving the second.

TWIN TOWERS II3

In the surrender MSS. is some information as to one of the bells here, which is trustworthy as being within the personal knowledge of the narrator, Sir Edward Deering. It is given as follows in Arch. Cant. Vol. I : It appears that there was at that time ( 1630) in this church a brass of which a sketch is given-to Sir Robert Astone, and the fol­lowing note is added by Sir Edward :

" The circumscription of the great bell heere and weighing 3,ooo lb. weight, and which was the gift of that Sr. Robert Astone, hath every letter fayre and curiously cast, and each crowned with a ducal croen, Dominus Robertus de Astone Miles me fecit fieri Ao quarto R. Ricardi sedi C." Lower than this in small letters was cast:

"Stepne Norton of Kent, Me made in god intent."

It may be noted that the last two lines appear on a bell at Chisel­borough, Somerset, cast by the said Stephen Norton, and that the only two other specimens of his work known to exist-at Soave and Holy Cross-Canterbury-the inscriptions are in very handsome crowned capitals.

At Horfield, Glos., some six miles from Bristol, the parish church has two towers, one at the crossing of the transepts, hod the other at the west end. According to the only note I have on this church there are five bells, treble by A. Rudhall, 1715, inscribed, "Fear God and honour the King"; second by John Rudhall, 181o, bearing church· warden's name; third by A. Rudhall; fourth by Abraham Bilbie, 1734; and tenor by A. Rudhall, 1773, with the inscription, " George the Illd, Defender of the Faith: Dr. Newton, Lord Bp. of Bristol: John Shadwell, Esq., Lord of the Manor of Horfield." The tenor is 37 in. diameter and note B flat.

The Church of SS. Andrew and Patrick, Elvedon, Suffolk, no" possesses two towers. The old church has been nearly rebuilt in ar elaborate manner, an entirely new nave and chancel having beer added north of the old building. The old tower has one bell, "Johr Barbie made me in 1664,'' and a set of ten tubes. It is of the fifteend century, and said to have been built by four shepherds, who are coni memorated by four lifesize statues placed at the four corners in lieu o: pinnacles. The old church was dedicated to St. Andrew, and the new to St. Patrick, being added in 1904-6.

In 1922 a new tower containing eight bells was built, and is connecte<

TOWERS AND BELLS OF BRITAIN

to the church by a long cloister, this addition being erected to the memory of Countess lveagh.

At Fingest, Bucks., the ancient Church of St. Bartholomew has a single Norman tower, but with a double gabled roof which is unique. It only contains one bell, however, and a poor one at that, cast by a local iron-founder. The inscription is incised, and reads: "I. Ho~ Lane End, 1830." It is hung with wheel and stay, but has no slider. There is a tradition that the bells in the tower were removed ~ Hambledon, the most generally accepted version that Fingest parish was in debt, and that Hambledon parish paid off the debt on con$' tion that the bells should be transferred to that tower. All round tbt bell chamber of Fingest's fine early Norman tower are to be seeq. marks in the wall which seem clearly to indicate where the frame of a. ring of bells was fixed. The existing frame is older than the bell, and consists of two cages, and the empty one has been in use. Unfortu· nately in the indenture of 1552 the bells are not mentioned.

Of the cathedrals, the only one with but two towers is that oi Exeter. Several have three towers and many have single towers, of which I will give details later. The history of the heavy ring of bell$ at Exeter is well known, therefore I will reiterate very briefly. ;;·

As early as the thirteenth century there were ten bells here, but i~ is extremely unlikely they formed a peal in any way, but most pr~ ably were odd bells used for the various services in pre-Reformation days. In the inventory of 1552 it is noted there were tight bells in one:: tower and five in the other. Later we find agreements for recasting various bells, but how the eight became augmented to ten is a mystery and was certainly not done by adding two trebles in the usual way. In r6J8, Mr. Warren, bell-hanger, was paid £so for hanging the bells,• " to be rung upon the sally ", i.e., to be hung for ringing as we under~ stand it to-day. Before that date they were probably rung by half-' wheels.

Before 1902, no peal was ever attempted here; in fact it would have been well-nigh impossible, not only from the bad "go " of the bells, but from the position in which the ropes descended. The bells were hung in a timber frame, all swinging the same way, and the ropes fell in ranks thus, counting from left to right: First row I, 2, 3, 4; second row, 6, 5, 4 flat; third row, 7, 8; fourth row, 10, 9·

In 1902 they were all rehung in a new iron frame by J. Taylor and Co., who also recast the fifth and tenor, adding 10 cwt. more metal to the latter, which made it the heaviest tenor to any "ringing" peal. (Liverpool Cathedral tower, now completed, has a heavier ring.)

TWIN TOWERS

The first peal on the ten was 5,021 Grandsire Caters on October 6th, 1902, conducted by George Williams; and on September 14th, 1903, a peal of 5,041 Stedman Caters was called by John Austin. In the latter peal the tenor, 72 cwt. 2 qr. 2lb., was rung by the late William Pye for

4 hours 1 minute, the only time it was ever rung single-handed. In 1922, two trebles were added, making a grand ring of twelve, and on these the first peal was 5,017 Stedman Cinques, called by Albert Walker, on July 5th, 1924. The first time the great tenor was" turned in " was on October 15th, 1932, when 5,280 Cambridge Surprise Maxi­mus was rung in 4 hours 25 minutes. It was rung double-handed by the late William Pye and Edward P. Duffield, the eleventh bell being rung by Reuben Sanders. A similar peal was rung on April 3oth, 1949, conducted by Wilfred Williams.

The cathedral suffered grievous damage in the terrible air-raids on that city, but the bells were undamaged. Although Exeter has a larger tenor bell, the total weight of St. Paul's Cathedral, London, bells is heavier than those of Exeter, being 271 cwt. 2 qr. 19 lb., as against 26o cwt. 1 qr. 27 lb.

Although not yet possessing dual towers, the new Cathedral of St. Mary, Blackburn, Lanes., will have them when the complete scheme of extension is finally carried out. At present it has its old west tower, which contains a ring of ten bells, tenor 14 cwt. 3 qr. 13 lb. When the complete design for the extension of the cathedral east­wards is done, there will be a much higher octagonal tower erected in the centre at the crossing of new transepts. Whether this will eventually carry bells remains to be seen. The present ring consists of a complete set of six by Abel Rudhall (1737, tenor recast 1747) to which four trebles were added by C. and G. Mears in 185r.

TRIPLE TOWERS

As we have already noticed, there are a number of churches in England with two towers. There are some instances, particularly in cathedrals, where the church possesses three towers. The only in­stances I can recall in this country where there are four towers are St. John's, Westminster, and Out-Rawcliffe, near Garstang, Lancashire.

St. John's was designed by Archer, and before it was completed the fabric began to settle. A tower was therefore added to each corner to strengthen the building. The church was burnt out during one of thC:: air-raids.

The Church of St. John at Out-Rawcliffe is a small edifice of brick in Norman style which is unique. It is an oblong building with a square turret at each of the four corners, the south-west having on~ bell. This unconventional style of architecture was designed, it i1t said, from a portion of Glastonbury Abbey. With ivy covering its wall, it certainly presents picturesque appearance, but an unromantic person is said to have compared it to a chest of drawers turned up- . side down. The church has no chancel, but can boast of forty-two windows and a fine west door of Norman Architecture.

The Church of St. James, Gerrard's Cross, Bucks., is on an unusual plan, being a cruciform building on the plan of a Latin cross in the Byzantine style, of various coloured bricks and stones, and having an octagonal dome 6J ft. high, rising above the intersection, and flanked by four turrets. It also has a campanile 8o ft. high and 12Y4 ft. square, containing a clock and five bells. The latter are by J. Warner and Sons, hung dead, erected in 1888, the tenor being 10 cwt.

The incomplete Church of St. Michael, Croydon, has several spired turrets and eventually will have a tower with a ring of bells, and similar instances might be noted.

On the Continent it is not unusual to see churches with many towers and spires. Thus in Germany there are five towers at Paulinzelle: St. Castor, Coblenz, and Apostles' Church, Cologne. Similarly in France there are five towers at Angouleme Cathedral, and Deols, Indre.

n6

TRIPLE TOWERS

At Cluny, Tournai, Limberg, Speyer, Worms and Laach there are six.

Rouen, Rheims and Laon were intended for seven towers; five of them like those still surviving at Tournai were to be central. Chartres was designed for eight.

Except at Peterborough, we in England were less ambitious. Of our forty-three cathedrals, eight have triple towers, and two have triple towers with spires, not counting St. Paul's, London, which, besides its great central dome rising to a height of 363 ft. (including the sur­mounting cross), has two western towers, each 222 ft. high. To these might be added Peterborough, which, besides its central tower con­taining five bells, has attached to its fine western portico-said by many to be the finest in Europe-on the north and south two lofty turrets flanked at the angles, with clustered shafts and crowned with spires. Of the other English cathedrals, as we have already noted, Exeter has twin towers at the transept crossings. Nine have western towers; three have west towers with spires; eight have central towers; and seven central towers with spires. The ancient Cathedral of Peel (Isle of Man) is in ruins, and Bury St. Edmunds has its detached tower.

Triple towers also occur at Selby Abbey and Melbourne, Derbyshire, while the little church of St. Martin-of-Tours, Werrington, Devon, besides having its central west tower, has two smaller tower-like abutements with battlements and crocketed pinnacles, each being a small replica of the larger tower. The latter has a fine ring of eight bells by J. Taylor and Co., tenor 14 cwt. 2 qr. 12 lb. erected in 1898.

Melbourne, as all the world now knows since the recent broadcasts, has a ring of eight bells which hang in its central tower. This magni­ficent specimen of Early Norman work stands open to the road without any enclosing churchyard. Besides the central tower there are two small towers at the west end, surmounted by dwarf spires. The church was given by Henry II to the Bishop of Carlisle, who used it as a retreat when there was any fighting on the border. There were originally four old bells, the first three by members of the Oldfield Foundry and dated 1610, 1632 and 1614 respectively. The tenor was by Hedderley in 1732. In 1882 Messrs. J. Taylor and Co. added a treble and tenor, recasting the old bells at the same time, and in 1887 two more bells were installed. These were all rehung in 1935, and the tenor weighs IS cwt. 1 qr. 24 lb. The ringers here stand in the choir before the chancel screen, and before commencing to ring, the stalls on either

u8 TOWERS AND BELLS OF BRITAIN

side, which are hinged, are tipped back out of the way. A number of peals have been rung here by the local wmpany, who in days gone by rang most of the compositions of Melbourne, Australia. The band of tourists who went to Australia in 1934, and among other peals rang one at Melbourne there, later visited this tower and repeated the performance.

Selby, Yorkshire, is justly proud of its fine abbey and the glorious ring of ten bells. Originally five were installed by Sellers, of York, in. 17to, after the fall of the tower in 1~0. A treble was added to these by T. Mears, of London, in x821, and in x863 the octave was completed by two trebles, also by Mears, who recast the tenor at the same time. A most disastrous fire occurred on the night of October 19th-2oth, 19o6, which, besides doing much material damage, destroyed the bells, which fell. After the great restoration, a new ring of ten was provided from the remains of the old bells with additional metal, cast by J. Taylor and Co., with a tenor 25 cwt. 2 qr. 20 lb. They are hung in an iron frame. The Restoration Committee paid for the actual casting of the old eight bells, while the difference to increase the ring to ten was collected by the ringers. In November 23rd, 1918, to mark the signing of the Armistice, and in honour of the Vicar, Rev. J. Solloway, n.n., being appointed Canon of York Minster, the writer (then Sergeant E. Morris, R.A.S.C.) had the pleasure of conducting Matthews' xo-part peal of Grandsire Triples in 3 ~ hours.

Like many ascents to central towers, the approach to the ringing chamber at Selby is first by a spiral staircase at the end (inside) of the north transept in the left-hand corner under the north window. At the top of this stairway you come out on a narrow balcony, which takes you back to the south end of the transept, thence up some sloping steps, which bring you to the rather twisting spiral stairway of the tower proper, and so to the ringing chamber.

At the west end of the abbey are two towers with battlements and tall crocketed pinnacles.

Of the English cathedrals that have triple towers, excluding St. Paul's with its towers and central dome, there are Canterbury, Wells, Bristol, Lincoln, York, Durham, Ripon, and Southwell. To these might be added Peterborough, and, of course, the three-spired cathed­rals of Lichfield and Truro.

Canterbury Cathedral has now a ring of twelve, hung in the south­west tower, with a tenor of 32 cwt. Two trebles were added to the old ten as a memorial to the 56 members of the Kent County Associa­tion who fell in the Great War, 1914-18. They were cast by Messrs.

TRIPLE TOWERS

Mears and Stainbank in 1923. Originally there was a ring of eight cast by Samuel Knight in 1726, the tenor having been recast by Pack and Chapman in 1778. Two trebles were added by Thomas Mears in 1802, and the third and fifth bells recast by C. and G. Mears in 1855· As stated above, the completion to twelve was carried out in

1923· In a pent-house on the top of the south-west tower hangs the " Dun-

stan bell", weighing 3~ tons which, according to its inscription, was cast by Lester and Pack, of London, in 1762, and " W m. Chapman molded me". The original" Dunstan" bell was given by Prior Molash in 1430. Whether this bell survived until 1758 is not known, but in that year " Dunstan " became cracked. An attempt to mend the crack was made without success. Eventually it was recast within the cathedral precincts in 1762 by William Chapman, then foreman and afterwards partner in the firm of Lester and Pack, of the White­chapel Foundry. While Chapman was moulding the bell he noticed a young man who appeared to be intensely interested in the work: he offered to take him back to London with him to learn the art of bell founding. The offer was accepted. That young man was none other than William Mears, and thus the Whitechapel Foundry came into the hands of the Mears family, who carried it on for several generations.

The central tower contains a call-bell known as " Bell Harry " which is usually rung for the last quarter of an hour before services. It was cast by Joseph Hatch in 1635, and concerning it is a legend that the original bell was given by Henry VIII, hence the name by which it is known. From "Anglia Sacra" it appears that Prior Ernulph gave a large bell about the year noo, which was recast by his successor Con­rad, who added four small ones to it. Some 6o years later, Prior W ybert added a sixth of very large size, and it is recorded that it took 32 men to ring it. This shows that the bell must have been rung by treading the plank, and not by means of the rope. Large bourdon hells on the Continent are still rung in this manner even to-day. These bells were hung in a detached campanile, which fell in 1382 in consequence of an earthquake, when doubtless the bells were broken, but there is no record of the disposal of the metal.

The central or " angel " tower does not appear to have possessed bells until 1317, when Prior Eastry placed three therein. Archbishop Arundel also placed four bells in this tower about 1390. At the close of the fifteenth century the central tower was rebuilt, and the five bells known as the " Arundel Ring " was removed to the north-west

1:2.0 T 0 W E R. S A N D B E L L S 0 F B R I T A I N

tower, which was thenceforth called the "Arundel Tower". Other bells remained in the central tower, viz., Eastry's three and others. These five were confiscated by the Crown at the dissolution in 1540, and their metal sold.

Regarding the bells in the north-west tower, it is recorded that in 1316 Prior Henry, of Eastry, placed four bells therein, three forming a ring and a small bell used to summon the chapter. To this tower, as already noted, the Arundel ring was removed, but there is no further ' record of changes or additions. It is certain, however, the tower con. tained six bells in 1726, which were taken down and cast into the back eight of the present twelve. Previous to this fate only the "Dunstan " bell hung in the south-west tower, but from that date the ring was hung there, and the old ten hung in a two-tier timber frame, five above and five below. In 1897 they were re-hung in a massive cast-iron frame, all on one level, designed by the late Mr. J. R. Jerram and executed by Mr. Thomas Blackbourn of Salisbury. At the same time new quarter chimes were added, composed by the Rev. F. J. 0. Belmore, Precentor of the cathedral.

Like a good many of the cathedral belfries; the approach to the ring ing chamber is unusual and somewhat involved, even though the bells. hang in a western tower. One starts by climbing a spiral stairway of 77 steps in the south-east turret of the south transept. Then travel along the triforium, through the wall and along the ceiling over the entire length of the south aisle of the nave and so into a room below the ringing chamber, from which a further ladder takes one into the ringing room.

As stated above, the bells were once in the north-west tower, and it is thought the old ringing chamber was on a level with a transept roof, as there are some figures-rather faint-<>n the west wall of the tower. There is now only one bell in the central, or "Bell Harry", tower, approximately the same weight as the sixth of the peal, though a little sharper in tone. In this tower is preserved the last treadmill used in connection with the building of the tower.

Somerset is the county of grand church towers and noted for its heavy rings of bells. These include the heaviest ringing peal of six (Queen's Camel) and ten in the kingdom. The latter are in the south­west tower of the grand Cathedral of Wells, and the tenor weighs 56 cwt. 1 qr. 14lb.

Wells Cathedral bells have a long and interesting history. The Fabric Rolls show that in 1586 the "Great Bell to be placed by the Master of the Fabric in the Tower, and the fragments of metal to

Plate 17 cANTERBuRY cATHEDRAL. The South-west tower has a ring of twelve bells. The above drawing shows the curious ascent to the ringer's chamber. (PaRe 120)

Plate 18. WELLS CATHEDRAL

The great central tower is supported by "inverted" strainer arches giving the interior view a unique ap­pearance. The South-west tower has the heaviest ring of ten bells in England.

(Page 120)

Plure 19. S O UT H WELL

MINST E R . NO TTS.

Norman nave a nd towers, Ea rl y English choir. The central tower. I 05" fee t high. has eight bells rung

from a curious ga llery. (See Plate 20)

Plate 20. souTH wELL M 1 N s T E R, NoT T s. The ringers' gallery perched on the tower walls, 60 feet high, with a 20 feet square opening in the centre. (Page 126)

TRIPLE TOWERS 121

be sold". The next year we read that "Harewell's great bell to be recast by Joseph Carter, of Reading". In 1627 the Corporation gave

4os. towards recasting the cathedral bells. In 1670 " Mr. James, of Bristole, gave for metal for Harewell's bell £17 15s. od." and cost of " agreement between Thomas Purdue and Dean " was 2s. Purdue was paid £23 for "forming the bell called Harewell ".

For many years the ring numbered eight, being the heaviest octave in England, but in 1891 it was decided to have them rehung and aug­mented to ten. This was done and two trebles added by Mears and Stainbank, and the rehanging in an iron frame carried out by Messrs. Blackbourn and Greenleaf, of Salisbury. The ninth and tenor are by Messrs. J. Taylor and Co., and dated 1877. When the ring was opened, members of the Oxford Diocesan Guild were engaged for the occasion, and after the dedication a peal of Stedman Caters was started with the late J. W. Washbrook as conductor. He called his own composition and attempted to ring the tenor single-handed. The rest of the band were: Fred White 1, G. H. Philott, M.A., 2, Charles Hounslow 3, T. Blackbourn 4, Rev. H. A. Cockey 5, Rev. F. E. Robinson 6, Wm. W. Gifford 7, James Hinton 8, RichardT. Hibbert 9· Washbrook rang the tenor for 3 Y4 hours and then turned it over to W m. Greenleaf, still retaining his position by the bell and finishing the conducting. It was a magnificent heavy-bell performance, for with the old style of plain bearings it was a rare thing for a bell to go well until it has been rung for some time.

Washbrook completely eclipsed this feat some four years later, and actually turned it in single-handed to a peal of Kent Treble Bob Royal, an outstanding heavy-bell performance. The day following the peal at the cathedral, W ashbrook turned the 29 cwt. tenor at St. Cuthbert, Wells, into a peal of Double Norwich Major, while the next day he conducted a peal of Stedman Triples at Prestbury, and another of Caters at Cheltenham. Since those days other peals have been rung at Wells, but only on rare occasions has the complete 5,ooo been accomplished.

Although Bristol possesses more rings of bells than almost any other city in England, yet, strange to say, its cathedral, which has three towers, can only boast of four bells. These hang in the central tower. The smallest, 28 ~ in. diameter, has an inscription in black letter alphabet, with an invocation to Saint Clement. It also bears a shield placed sideways, depicting a bleeding heart pierced with nails, and the letters I.N. in Lombardic capitals on either side. This is a rebus on the name of Abbot Newland, alias "Nailheart" who died in 1486.

122. TOWERS AND BELLS OF BRITAIN

The second bell, 31 ~ in. diameter, has an invocation to St. Margarctj also in black letter alphabet. The third, 35 ~ in. diameter, in highly ornamented Lombardic capitals, says, "t CLARA: VOCOR: ET: CLARIOR: ERO" (I am called Clara, and will be clearer). The largest, 48 ~ in. diameter, was cast by Robert Purdue in 1670, and m large Roman capitals bears an inscription in Latin, meaning, "T~ Cathedral Church of Bristol, the house of the Lord, call a sole~ assembly ". The two western towers bear the names of Bishop Butl~ and Edward Colston.

The glorious Cathedral of Lincoln now possesses a grand ring of twelve, tenor 23 cwt. 3 qr. 13 lb. The history of bells at Lincoln ia very comprehensively given in North's Church Bells of Lincolnshire but brjefly it i.s as follow_s: Tw~ bells w~re given by Robert de Ches­ney, fourth Btshop of Lmcoln, m the mtddle of the twelfth century,' and were hung in the western towers. Two more were placed in the central tower between 1307 and 1311. Others were added at various, times until the eighteenth century, when we find a ring of six in this tower. These were commonly known as the "Lady Bells". The. four larger ones were cast by Robert Quernbie and Henry Oldfield in. 1593· At that time the old Great Tom hung in the north-west tower and weighed 28 cwt. 1 qr. 10~ lb. This was cracked in 1827, and after several attempts to remedy it an estimate by T. Mears was accepted for casting a new Great Tom and two quarter bells from the metal of the old bell and the six Lady bells, all of which were shipped off to London on June 23rd, 1834· The new bell, weighing 5 tons 8 cwt. was cast November 15th that year, and brought to Lincoln by road, arriving on April 3oth, 1835, amid great rejoicing.

In 188o the two quarter bells were replaced by four bells arranged for the Cambridge chimes, the largest weighing 27 cwt. 2 qr. 7lb. At this time there was a ring of eight, with a tenor 16 ~ cwt. in the south­west tower. In 1913 these were all recast by Messrs. ]. Taylor and Co., the old seventh and tenor being retained as service bells. In 1928 four additional bells were added as a memorial to the ringers of the diocese who fell in the Great War. The tower itself was completely restored and the bells lowered some 30 ft., the ceiling and roof of the tower removed and replaced by a lantern roof resting on reinforced concrete piers. The lower louvres have been closed, and the sound therefore travels uninterrupted to the top of the tower before escaping. Thus the sound of the bells is moderated in the vicinity but carried in full mellowness far across the surrounding country. Since their inaugura­tion a number of fine peals of Cinques and Maximus have been success-

TRIPLE TOWERS 12-3

fully rung on the bells. An account of the ancient "Companie of Ringers" formed here in 1612 will be seen in my History and Art of Change Ringing.

The vastness of York Minster-or Cathedral of St. Peter-with its forest of clustered pillars, its unrivalled ancient stained glass, its im­portance as the metropolitan church of Northern England, combine to make this splendid structure one of the most interesting in the kingdom. The central tower, rising to a height of 216ft., is the largest in England. It is one of the greatest achievements of the fifteenth century (144o-1433), and is one of the finest in the world. The east window is the largest window in England retaining its original glazing, although in actual size it is surpassed by that of Gloucester. In the north-west tower hangs Great Peter, the third largest bell in England, recast in 1927 by Messrs. J. Taylor and Co., and now weighing 10 ton 16 cwt. 2 qr. 22lb. Its note is E flat and is said to be one of the deepest-toned in Christendom.

In the south-west tower hangs the grand ring of twelve (with addi­tional semitone). As the full history of these bells has already been given, all I need add is that the whole ring were recast with additional metal in 1926 by Messrs. J. Taylor and Co., and rehung in a new iron and steel frame. The tenor, now 6o cwt., was the third heaviest in existence-but is now fourth since Liverpool bells are completed. The writer had the good fortune to be stationed in York for two years during the Great War (1917-18), and during that period did most of the conducting of Sunday service ringing on the old ring, tenor 53Y4 cwt., the chief and most eventful occasion being when, on the proclamation that Armistice was signed, he called the touch for the special service of thanksgiving at which over 5,000 people attended. The two western towers are 201 ft. high.

Durham Cathedral Church of Christ and the Blessed Virgin Mary is the glory of this ancient city. Its two west towers are 144ft. and the central tower 218 ft. high. The present structure, which replaced an earlier one, was begun in the eleventh century, and much of it is Norman. The Galilee chapel is a notable feature, as are the central tower and the chapel of the nine altars. Some very interesting notes on the ancient customs of ringing the bells here in medi:eval times appear in "The Rites of Durham, being a description of all the ancient monuments, rites and customs belonging to or being within the Monastical Church of Durham before the Suppression, written 1593 ". In 1~3 the bells were cast into a ring of eight by Christopher Hodson, of London. Three of them have since been recast, the treble

124 TOWERS AND BELLS OF BRITAIN

in 178o by Pack and Chapman, the third in IJ8I, by Chapman, the fourth in IS¢ by Mears and Stainbank.

Mr. W. Story, of Newcastle, writes: "The approach to the belfry is first by a broad flight of spiral steps from the north-west corner of the south transept, thence a long walk under the roof of the transept to a narrow spiral stairway in the north-west corner of the central tower-a tremendous climb! I rang the tenor to the first peal on the bells many years ago by candlelight before they were rehung; and later the same bell to the third, both in the same time, 3 hours 22 minutes."

Peterborough Cathedral, besides having a central tower, has two lofty western towers or turrets, flanked at the angles with clustered shafts and crowned with spires. Its noble west front is said to be the finest portico in Europe. Records of bells here date from very early times, and as early as 1250 we find that Abbot John de Caleta gave a great bell to the monastery at Peterborough. A little later Richard de London, sacrist, gave two more bells. Numerous other notes on the bells occur in later years, till at the time of the Commonwealth we find that a heavy ring of ten bells was hanging in the tower. It is recorded that Cromwell's soldiers were quartered in the cathedral for some time, and that they used to amuse themselves by jangling the bells at all hours, night and day, much to the annoyance of the inhabitants of Peterborough, who managed secretly to remove the clappers and hide them, and so put a stop to the nuisance. The tenor of this ring must have weighed 6o cwt.

In 1709 Henry Penn, the Peterborough bell founder, agreed to cast a tunable peal of ten out of the four largest of the above-mentioned ring with a little additional metal, taking for his payment the front six bells. A ring of ten, with a tenor 32 cwt., was then erected, when, after beirig in use for over 120 years, the ninth became cracked. At that time the tower was deemed unsafe, and it was resolved to sell the front five bells, with the idea of reducing the strain thereon. This was done, and William Dobson, of Downham, Norfolk, bought them, at the same time recasting the ninth (now the fourth) in 1831. Thus Peterborough Cathedral still only has this part ring of five bells, although just prior to the present war a scheme was advanced to restore the tower and erect a ring of twelve.

Ripon Cathedral also has two west towers and a central tower. Its erection occupied about three centuries, and consequently it displays all style of architecture, from the Norman apse through the Transitional transepts, to the Perpendicular work in the choir. It replaced an earlier

TRIPLE TOWERS

building, the crypt of which still remains. Ripon grew up around an abbey founded in the seventh century, Wilfred, to whom the cathedral is dedicated, being the first abbot. Thomas Gent, in his History of Rippon (1733), gives a copy of the inscription of five bells then hang­ing in the south-west tower. In the north-west tower was a large bell, 51 in. diameter, said to have been brought from Fountain's Abbey.

In a cupola at the north-west angle of the central tower (St. Wilfred's steeple, as Gent calls it) was a bell 25 in. in diameter. This was later broken up, and a fragment of it is still preserved in the vestry. The bells quoted by Gent were taken down in 1761 and recast by Lester and Pack into a ring of eight, and on a board in the ringing chamber were these rules :

"Orders made and agreed upon the second day of February in the year of our Lord, 1764, by the Society of Ringers, and to be observed by strangers and others that enter the belfry.

"Every person refusing to . keep his hat off after having been requested by any member to do so, shall forfeit sixpence .

.. Every person making a bell sound with hat and spur on shall forfeit sixpence. Every person swearing, giving the lie, offering to lay wagers, guilty of any other abusive or indecent language, or behav­ing himself in any disorderly manner, shall forfeit one shilling.

"Every person guilty of malicious or unwarrantable practice of spoiling or besmearing the painting, or cutting or marking the wood, or plastering of this belfry, or otherwise obliterating or defacing any part thereof, shall forfeit two shillings and sixpence, and lastly, all the above forfeitures for every time such respective offence may be com­mitted, shall be immediately paid to the President or Treasurer for the time being of the said Society, or in his absence to such member there­of here present then to be appointed to receive the same, and it is earnestly requested by the said Society that all persons here assembled would be very still and keep strict silence whilst they are ringing."

Mr. J. Eyre Poppleton, in his Notes on the Bells of West Riding, gives a copy of inscriptions of the 10 bells in the south-west tower. These hung in an iron frame. In 1933 the entire ring was recast by Messrs. J. T aylor and Co. and the tenor now weighs 23 cwt. 24 lb., and is in E flat. On Wednesday evening, March 1st, 1933, at the Lough­borough Bell Foundry, a broadcast wireless talk on bells was given by Mr. E. Denison Taylor. During the proceedings, and to illustrate the art of change ringing, a perfectly struck bob-course of Grandsire Triples was rung on the back eight of these new Ripon Cathedral bells,

u6 TOWERS AND BELLS OF BRITAIN

then in the foundry yard, by H. J. Poole 1-2, Morris 3-4, C. Harrison 5-6, H. Stubbs 7, J.P. Fiddler tenor.

Southwell Minster or Cathedral dates mainly from the twelfth cen­tury. It is a beautiful cruciform building, with Norman nave and towers, and Early English choir. The chapter house is especially not­able, and it retains some marvellous stone carvings. The central tower is IOS ft. high, while the two western towers, which are crowned with square spirelets, reach a total height of ISO ft. Bells are mentioned here at an early date, the gift of two being noted by Archbishop Kinsius of York, who died in 106o. Four hundred years later-in I475-the first peal of matins is mentioned, while in 1478 we are told "the clerks do not toll the curfew at 8 o'clock, but often after half-past or even later". In I48I the churchwardens do not diligently attend to the bells as they ought to do. In I503, Edmund the clerk and others do not ring the bells for Matins and Vespers long enough, and a further complaint is registered in I5I9· The Archbishop of York in his visitation in I635 notes that " the clock and chymes are very much neglected ". On November sth, IJII, during a violent thunderstorm, fire broke out in the south-west tower, and practically destroyed it, spreading to the roofs of the nave and transepts and also the great central tower. The organ was destroyed and bells melted. In I7I2 Thomas Clay, of Leicester, agreed to recast, renew and make good the bells thus damaged, but his work was not satisfactory. In 1721, Abraham Rudhall, of Glou­cester, undertook to recast the ring, and of his work the I, 3, 6, 7, 8 bells still remain. In I8I9, the 4th and fifth were recast by T. Mears, and in 1849 the second was recast by C. and G. Mears. The tenor is approximately 28 cwt. In 1897 two additional bells for the chimes were installed by J. Taylor and Co., but these are not hung for ringing.

The ringers' "gallery" at Southwell is peculiar. The central tower is nearly 40 ft. square, the gallery being 6o ft. high and 28 ft. square, with an opening in the centre 20 ft. square. The ropes come down­two on each side-to the ringers' gallery wrong way round, i.e., anti­clockwise. Rising up before each ringer is a balcony, 4 ft. of wood and 3 ~ ft. of interlaced wire. The ropes fall IO ft. apart. At the back of the ringers a passage runs round the whole four sides of the tower. The approach of this curious gallery is via a spiral stairway in the transept up to the clerestory; thence a walk across this clerestory to the central tower. A spiral leads to the top of the tower, if necessary, or step into the ringers' gallery, clockroom, bell chamber, and then to the top. Only one other such gallery exists in England, that at Merton College, Oxford, where the ringers stand in a similar manner,

TRIPLE TOWERS

two on each side near the walls, and a 20 ft. opening in the centre looking down on the tessellated floor far below. In spite of these diffi­culties Southwell retains a good band of ringers, and full peals of 5,000 changes have been rung in Grandsire, Stedman, Double Norwich, Superlative, Cambridge Surprise, and other methods.

Lichfidd is famous for its cathedral, built mainly in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, but largely restored in the nineteenth.

Features of this beautiful building are the west front, the chapter house, the lady chapel and the three spires. Of these the central one is 258 ft. high, and the two west ones 198 ft. An early record states that there was a bell tower at Lichfield, which was consumed by fire, together with the bells it contained, in I315· No more records occur until the fifteenth century, when Dean Heywood gave the" Jesus bell". This bell was destroyed during the Commonwealth wars. In I67o, Bishop Hacket contracted for "six bells becoming a Cathedral". In I687 these bells had become "bad and useless", and so a scheme was launched to replace them with a ring of ten. This was carried out by Henry Bagley, and thus the present ring was provided, with a tenor of 30 cwt. The treble, ninth and tenor were later recast, treble by Thomas Mears, I8I3. In the central steeple is a small bell known as the " Goe bell ". It was soon after the tenor was recast that the first peal on the bells was rung, viz., 5,039 Grandsire Caters, on May 2oth, I8I5, by St. Martin's Youths, Birmingham, composed and called by Henry Cooper. Lichfield is also famous as the birthplace of Dr. Samuel Johnson (September I8th, I709). In I947 these bells were all recast as a Gift of the Freemasons of Staffordshire. The tenor now weighs 3I cwt. 2 qr. 9lb. and its note D.

The only other English cathedral possessing three spires is that at Truro. This was begun in x88o, the old Parish Church of St. Mary forming the south aisle. The building is in the Early English style, designed by J. L. Pearson. The nave was completed in I903, and by 1910 the western towers were finished. The central spire is 250 ft. and west spires 200 ft. high.

The ring of 10 bells, tenor 33 cwt. 3 qr. IO lb. in C sharp, was dedi­cated on June 21st, 1910, and hangs in the north-west tower, which was strengthened to take the bells. There are less louvres than in the south-west tower, and more masonry to give a good foundation for the bell frame. The bells are an entirely new ring, cast by Messrs. John Taylor and Co., and were given by various donors. The legend from a canticle is inscribed on the first band of each bell; the name of the saint to which it is dedicated on the second; the date MCMIX and

128 TOWERS AND BELLS OF BRITAIN

donor's name on the waist. In these cases a special motto is added. The canticle, "Nunc Dimittis ", has been omitted, as it is hoped that some day a Bourdon bell will be placed in the King Edward, or south­west, tower, and it will be inscribed on this bell. The north-west tower is called the Queen Alexandra tower.

Actually Truro has four spires, the small tower, with its copper­covered spire on the south side, which is the west end of St. Mary's aisle, being part of the old Parish Church of St. Mary. In this tower are the clock and six bells. The hour bell, cast in 1770 by Pack and Chapman, weighs about 17 cwt. and is hung for ringing. The four chime bells were cast in 1904 by J. Taylor and Co. The other; cast in 1771 by Pack and Chapman, is unused. The first peal on the ten bells was on December 26th, 19II, when a band from Plymouth rang Grandsire Caters. Since then several other peals of Grandsire Triples and Caters, Stedman Caters, Kent and Cambridge Royal have been rung.

Norwich Cathedral

SPIRES

FoR many people there is a religious symbolism in the church spire, 'and in this connection we recall the lines written relative to the curious arrangement of both tower and spire at Ormskirk, Lanes. (see page 150). Wordsworth has these lines as a reminder of the direc­tion the thoughts and prayers and life should take :

" Watching with upward eye the tall spire grow, And mount at every step-with living wiles. Instinct-to rouse the heart and lead the will, By a bright ladder to the world above."

Or as in one of his sonnets :

" Spires-whose silent finger points to heaven."

Equally effective, whether central as at Salisbury, Patrington; de­tached as at Fleet, Ledbury or St. Mary Redcliffe, Bristol (the latter is not actually detached but,looks so to the eye}-or giving the noblest of fa~ades as at Grantham, Newark or Louth.

The roofs of early towers were intended to protect completely the walls in addition to throwing off the weather: this was first accomp­lished by a timbered pyramidical structure four-square on plan and protected by a covering of lead or shingles, as in the eleventh-century tower of Bosham. As masoncraft developed, stone was substituted for timbering, and at first closely followed the wooden forms fitted to the top of the tower enclosing the walls.

Every tower required some sort of a roof and it is evident from illustrations in MSS. that it consisted of a very low square spire such as is common to this day in village churches, especially in Sussex, as at Ovingdean, Arundel, Steyning, Y apton, etc. Appleton, Berks., has a similar " pyramid " roof perched over a superstructure on top of its tower. It was here that the famous long record peals of caters were rung, viz.: 21,363 changes Stedman in 12 hrs. 25 mins. on 22nd April,

129 K

TOWEilS AND BELLS OF BlliTAIN

1922; and 16,271 Grandsire in 9 hrs. 20 mins. on 27th December, 19Jl. The spire is generally acknowledged to have originated from the

small pyramidal roof so frequently on Saxon and Norman towers. Gradually they became elongated and the towers sometimes gabled on each side, although the only instance of this in England is the remark­able Saxon tower at Sompting (Essex). This shows very clearly the angles of the spire resting upon the apexes of the gables, so that the spire itself is set obliquely to the square of the tower. Saxon and Norman spires are very rare in England, Sompting being the best example of the former, and those on the eastern transepts of Canter­bury Cathedral of the latter. Barnack (Northants.) has a curious spire showing the transition from Norman to Early English. Here the lower part of the tower is Saxon work, built, as it were, to imitate woodwork, with projecting ribs on the outside, technically known as " long and short work ". The arch opening from the tower to the nave has singular horizontal imposts, apparently intended to imitate Roman work. The tower has a ring of six bells.

As stated above, the prototype of the spire was the pyramidal roof of timber to protect the interior of the tower and bells. The country is full of timber spires covered with oak shingles which give a charm to many a rural village. That at Darenth is of the simplest type:

The earliest tower coverings were of two types-the " saddleback " of which a fair number of examples remain, facing in both directions, as at Sa"att (Herts.): W adenhoe (Northants.): Elm (Som.), and the pyramid as at Clymping and many other churches in Sussex, Starnes­fir:ld (Hereford): and Godmersham (Kent). The latter type, built of wood and covered with tiles, was the direct precursor of the Gothic spire, which developed from it rapidly early in the thirteenth century. In the first of these the pyramid was merely heightened and cham­fered at the four angles, as may be seen in many towers such as Merst­ham (Surrey): Preston (Kent).

This essentially timber structure was soon imitated in stone to a fair height, as at Etton and Denford (Northants.). From thence it was a short step to the developed octagonal brooch spire which in certain districts formed so grand a feature of the thirteenth- and fourteenth­century styles.

Early English spires in stone are at Pennon, Priestholm, Puffin Islands, Anglesea, Southwell. These are, however, still roofs, not spires proper. It is probable that the spires of Barnack, Oxford Cathedral, Sutton St. Mary, may have been built in the latter part of the twelfth century. There are also timber spires on a grand scale,

SPIR:ES

like that which crowned Old St. Paul's, London, and the fine one covered with lead built in the latter part of the twelfth century, still existing at Sutton St. Mary.

The spire often rose from a cornice carried on corbel-tables, the transition from the square to the octagon being effected on the outside by plain triangular masses of masonry called "broaches", and on the inside by squinch-arches across the angles. Often rising 100 to ISO ft. or more, early English broad spires were one of the supreme achieve­ments of their age. Variety in design was accomplished simply enough by the number and arrangement of the dormer-like spire windows, set beneath delicate projecting gables. The plainest, however, were often the most pleasing where the effect relied entirely on nicety of propor­tion. It is difficult to make a choice of examples, but mention should be made of Treckingham, North Raunceby, and St. Mary, Stamford and Ketton (Lines.): Spaldwick, Alconbury and Warboys (Hants.), Raunds, Luddington, Barnwell St. Andrew (Northants.) which are among the most striking.

Though chiefly characteristic of the thirteenth century the broach spire persisted well into the fourteenth century, when crocketing some­times enriched the angles and window gables. This kind of construc­tion began to be superseded, about the end of this century, by a second type in which the broach was discarded, the junction of the tower and spire being masked by an ornamental parapet enclosing a platform, from which-incidentally-repairs could be easily effected. This para­pet, usually with four pinnacles at the four corners and occasionally with flying buttresses to the spire, became an increasingly decorative feature as time advanced. Good examples are seen at Louth (Lines.); St. Michael (Cathedral), Coventry; Patrington, Yorks.; Rushden, Higham Ferrers, and King's Sutton, Northants.; Yaxley, Hunts.; Hanslope, Bucks.; Thaxted, Essex; and a great many other churches in stone districts. To this period belong two of the triple spires of Lich­field; those of Ross, Hereford; Heckington, Lines.; Newark, Notts.; Bloxham, Oxon; Snettisham, Norfolk.

One cannot stand beneath such a spire as Louth or Grantham with­out feeling amazed at the venturesomeness of those who dared to poise the heavy capstone 2SO to 300 ft. above the ground. No wonder when Louth spire was finished there were great rejoicings, and that Louth had beaten its rivals of Grantham and Newark. "This year," ISIS, writes John Cawood, parish clerk of Louth, "the weathercock was set upon the broach, there being present William Aylesbury, parish priest, with many of his brother priests, hallowing the said weathercock and the

TOWERS AND BELLS OF BRITAIN

stone that it stands on, and so conveyed unto the said broach, and then the said priests sang T e Deum Laudamus with organs, p.nd the church­warden gart ring all the bells, and caused all the people there being to have bread and ale. And all for the love of God, Our Lady and the Saints."

Superb in design and proportion, the tower and crocketed spire reach the height of 295 ft. Both are almost equal in height, and com­pletely in harmony. All three stages of the tower have beautiful win­dows and steeply sloping sills. Graceful double buttresses, stepped and gabled, reach to a parapet crowned by 16 crocketed pinnacles, the four corner pinnacles being 52 ft. high and linked with the spire by flying buttresses of delicate tracery. The spire has been damaged by lightning several times, and no longer has its original weathercock of 1515 men­tioned above-which was made at Lincoln from a great copper basin, part of the booty taken from James IV of Scotland at Flodden in 1513. The tower has a grand ring of eight bells with a tenor of 31 cwt. Below, the mighty arch, leading into the nave, is a noble sight, its massive piers having attached round shafts, and another great arch frames the west window. The arches on the north and south sides also frame windows, and below these are smaller arches opening into the aisles. Its fine grained roof is 86 ft. high. In the tower is a curious wheel like a squirrel cage: it was used for hauling up stone in media:­val times; the power being provided by men walking round inside it. A somewhat similar wheel was preserved in the tower of Chesterfield.

Grantham tower is about 140 ft. high, while its graceful crocketed spire soars another 145 ft. Each stage of the tower has different decora­tion, the lowest with ballflower ornament varying in depth and detail, making a rich setting for the west doorway and central window. Above are bands of arcading and quatrefoils, and the third stage is set with double lights. A newel stairway in one of the pinnacle-crowned buttresses leads to the belfry where there is a glorious ring of ten bells. The first peal rung on them was by the " Sherwood youths " of Notting­ham on 19th September, 1775, and at the foot of the tablet recording this performance, are these lines :

" These Sabbath bells shall still arise And sound their notes to yonder skies, The living to worship God they'll call; And to the grave they'll summon all."

In districts where stone was scarce or unsuitable, if a spire was desired, it was of wood-of oak-sometimes covered with shingles, sometimes

SPIRES 133 with lead. Of the latter, good examples are at Heme/ Hempstead, Ryton, Wickham Market, Suffolk: St. Margaret's, Lowestoft.

Sometimes there was erected on the centre of the tower roof a small wooden spirelet or pinnacle, covered with lead, such as may be seen at Chelmsford (Cathedral), Essex; A/denham, Ashwell and Baldock, Herts.; Aylesham, Norfolk; Burwell, Camb., and elsewhere.

Very often this developed into an elaborate spirelet or group of spire­lets of which charming examples can be seen at Swaffham and East Harling, Norfolk, the latter dating from 1450.

A different method was to spring the spire from an octagon top storey of the tower, having the broaches below as at Barnack, Grafham, and the fine example at Exton, Rutland, which is a perfect combina­tion of setting out and proportion. In the fourteenth century spires were further enriched by crocketed fillets following up the angles as at King's Sutton, Molton, Lines.: Oundle, Northants., and W hittlesea. Other Northants. examples are at Milton, Nassington and Wilby.

Sometimes the eight sides of the spire descend straight to the tower, as at Chesterfield, Derbyshire; Harrow, St. Margaret's, Lowestoft. When the tower is octagonal, as at Wickham Market, Suffolk, the effect is not unpleasing. Of this style of timber spire, Sutton St. Mary is a remarkable variant, for at the angles it has lofty pinnacles. It is 150 ft. high and the pinnacles are inclined inwards, and at the top is a pommel or bowl, in which, no doubt, were placed relics to avert light­ning stroke.

English spires are very varied in design. Abroad it is often impossible to tell when the tower finishes and the spire commences-Le Puy; Sen­lis; Freiburg; Antwerp; St. Stephen, Vienna. In England there is seldom such features, there being a distinct line of demarcation between tower and spire. It will be noticed that the sides of a church spire are often slightly curved so as to swell out a little in the middle. This is called the entasis, and is necessary to correct the appearance of con­cavity which absolutely straight lines produce. Where the spire has no entasis, this effect is counteracted by the introduction of small pro­jecting gables, bands of carvings, crockets or a little coronal.

The church of St. James, Heminford Grey, Hants.-of Norrnan and Early English styles, has a west tower with six bells rehung in 1883. It was formerly surmounted by a spire which was blown down on 8th September, 1741, the base of which still remains.

TRUNCATED SPIRES

THE Church of Holy Trinity, Minchinhampton, Glos., partly rebuilt in 1842, is a cruciform building in Early English and Decorated styles, with a central tower which has a curious truncated spire. This gives an unusual appearance to the building, the spire proper leaving off about two-thirds its original height, and is crowned by a battle­mented and pinnacled corona. The tower contains six bells and a clock with chimes and three dials. The bells were all by A. Rudhall, 1719, but the tenor has been recast by John Rudhall, 1825, and the second by T. Mears, 1842.

A similar truncated spire is at the church of St. Mary, Yatton, Somer­set, whose fine tower of three stages is also central. The spire here, however, has no corona, but a small pierced parapet with small angle pinnacles. Y atton possesses a ring of eight with tenor in E flat by James Bilbie, of Chewstoke, dated 1809. The seventh is a medi.eval bell cast at Gloucester, the fifth simply bears the date "Anno Domini, 1622" while the three trebles and sixth are by John Rudhall, 1824, and the fourth is dated 1852.

Porlock Church, Somerset, is dedicated to St. Dubricius, who, according to tradition, crowned King Arthur at Caerleon, and after­wards married the hero-King and Queen Guinevere. Here the huge west tower is crowned by an octagonal broach spire of wood with truncated top and dormers at the base. The apex of the spire is said to have been destroyed in a storm in 1700, but there seems to be no evidence to support this statement. The spire was restored and re­covered with oak shingles in 1889. In 1933 it was again reshingled and the internal timbers renovated. Here is a ring of six bells dating from 1617.

The very fine western tower of three diminishing stages of the Church of St. Nicholas, Gloucester:, is also crowned with a truncated spire. Originally the spire rose to a height of 180 ft. but in 1783 the upper part, to an extent of one-third of the total height, was removed in consequence of a serious list of more than two ft. out of the per-

134

TRUNCATED SPIRES 135 pendicular, and the present corona formed to finish it. Here is a ring of six ancient bells and a Sanctus. The latter has the curious inscription in Gothic capitals," t ION PUTTE ANDE AYEAULIS HYS WHYFE LET MAKER ME BEY HERLYFE IN WOR­CHEPE OF SAYNTEIOH ". Of the ring of six, the tenor is by Rudhall, dated 1725, the treble is dated x6o8, second and third 1636, while the fourth and fifth are medi~val with invocations to St. John-the­Baptist and the Virgin.

The grand west tower of Shepton Mallet, Somerset, is crowned by an open traceried parapet and pinnacles, and a truncated spire of only three courses. It is said that although originally designed for a spire, the tower looked so well that it was thought best to let well alone. The lower stage of the tower is fan-vaulted. Originally cruciform, the church is a large and ancient edifice in Transitional Norman and Perpendicular styles. The tower contains a grand ring of eight of Thomas Rudhall, of Gloucester, 1773. The seventh has been recast by John Kingston, of Bridgwater, in 1822.

There is an unfinished spire crowning the ancient tower at Beeby, near Leicester, but here are only three bells. The tradition as to why this spire was never completed says that the architects-two brothers -fell to quarrelling on top of the tower and, coming to blows, fell over in the struggle and were killed. Two of the bells here are "alphabet bells'', c .. rs6o-r6oo, such as recently quoted in these columns, the third being probably by Johannes de Stafford, fourteenth century.

TOWERS IN DIFFERENT POSITIONS AND OF VARYING SHAPES

There is hardly any position in which a tower does not occur-south of the chancel, or south of the crossing as at W haplode, Lines., or serv­ing as a south transept. Instances occur at Bodmin, St. Petrock, and Blisland, Cornwall; Clymping, Sussex; and reference here is made to Ottery St. Mary, Devon, where the towers form a pair on either side of the building, following the arrangement at the cathedral of Exeter.

At All Saints', Leicester, the tower is at the east end on the north side, having been thus placed on account of the west end of the church abutting on the main street.

Norfolk has its towers on the south side, the basement forming a porch entrance, as at Litde Ellingham, and Hardindham. In Corn­wall the towers of Dulse, Lawhitton and Ve"yan, are also in that posi­tion, as -is the case at South Kilworth, Leicester, where the congregation

TOWERS AND BELLS OF BRITAIN

pass through the circle of ringers (s bells) who perform from the ground floor. At Darrington, Lines., and All Saints', Maidstone, the S.W. tower is added to the second bay from the west of the south aisle and forms a most dignified porch to the church. This also occurs at St. Stephen, Bristol, and Wisbech, Carobs. At St. Stephen by Saltash, the tower is at the west end of the north aisle.

When placed to the north or south of the west end as at St. Mary Redcliffe, Bristol; Norbury, Derbyshire; and Yapton, Sussex, it is not only picturesque but allows of the retention of the great west window of the nave, the most valuable source of light in a church.

OBLONG TOWERS

Some of the earliest towers are of oblong form as at Jarrow-on-Tyne and Deerhurst, the latter a western tower of peculiar construction and with its greater measurement from east to west. The two towers of Canterbury Cathedral called St. Andrew and St. Anselm, are oblong, as is the central tower of St. John's, Devizes, Wilts., and the west tower of Norham, Northumberland.

The oblong plan is also seen in the late perpendicular central tower of Bath Abbey, and at St. Mary, Melton Mowbray, Leics., where, ow­ing to the transepts being of less width than the nave and choir, the greater length of the tower is north and south. In the early Renaissance style, Gibbs west tower at St. Mary-le-Strand, London, is oblong in plan. Some other churches of the revived classical style have at the west end a kind of a cross between a tower and a screen front, which is in effect an oblong tower as in Hawksmoor's west steeple at Christ Church, Spitalfields. Congerstone, Leics., has an oblong tower with a ring of five bells, while at Barton Seagrave, Northants., the massive axial tower of the early twelfth century has a thirteenth-century south aisle covering it. This tower is full width of the nave and measures 18 ft. 8 in. by 19 ft. 6 in., the greater width being from north to south. Its walls are 3 ft. 10 in. thick and the lower stage opens to chancel and nave by semi-circular arches. It is 55 ft. high and contains five bells.

The tower at Rumburgh, Suffolk, is very interesting and is rectangu­lar in plan, but with a much greater width from north to south than in depth from west to east. The west front has three lancet windows separated by wide piers of rubble walling so typical of early work. Whether the tower was ever completed, and if so, what form it took, cannot be determined. To-day it terminates in a wooden bell chamber, having a tiled roof and it presents an altogether charming appearance.

TRUNCATED SPIRES 137 A hexagonal form of tower is very seldom used, though we have

at least one example at Swindon, Glos. (see page 144). At Cartmel, Lanes., we see the unusual feature of a square set diagonally on a square (see also page 33)-while the only triangular tower in this country is at Maldon, Essex, of which full details are given on page 236. Another curious tower is that of Burgh St. Pete,, Nodolk, which is square and composed of receding stages, each one set far back from the one below it, thus giving it the appearance of a flight of steps. The tower is unfinished. Another tower that goes up in receding stages is that of St. Paul's, Bristol, sometimes referred as a "wedding cake" design. The modern brick tower of St. Thomas', South Wigston, Leicester (where several long peals have been rung on its eight bells), is also comprised of receding stages.

St. Mary, Cartmel, Lanes.

ROUND TOWERS

ROUND towers are common in Norfolk and Suffolk, and other examples occur in Essex, Cambridgeshire and Sussex. They have been regarded as survivals of Roman forms, such as the Roman pharos at St. Mary-in-the-Castle, Dover, which, however, is octagonal. Round towers of the sixth century still remain at Ravenna, St. Apollinare in Classe (Italy). From the end of the ninth century to the beginning of the thirteenth century the Irish were building round towers, and these served as detached belfries, watch towers and strongholds for ecclesiastics and their valuables. Of the 120 recorded instances, 10 still retain their conical caps, including Ardmore, Co. Water­ford (95 ft.), Clondalkin, Co. Dublin (9o ft.), and Devenish, Co. Fermanagh (85 ft.).

They also occur at Peel, Isle of Man; Abernethy, Perthshire; Brechin, Forfarshire (8 ft.); Egilshay, Orkney. They had an ultimate Byzan­tine derivation, through the campaniles of early Ravenna, whence the Moslem minaret may have sprung. Of greater antiquity are the shorter and wider megalithic round strongholds, as in Rabboth Ammon, Syria, the Balearic Islands, Scotland and Sardinia.

The round tower at Windsor Castle was built by Edward III. But in the case of the English examples it is explained that they were almost wholly in chalk districts, where for the outer facing nothing but flint was available. It was easier to construct Aint-cased towers circular, so the towers were made round. If they had been made square it would have been necessary to import free-stone quoins from long distances. In his book, Parish Churches of Norfolk, Mr. C. J. W. Messent (1936) gives a list of no less than 135 examples in that county, of which 129 are still remaining, whole or in part, the others having the foundations only remaining.· Over 75 are entirely round from top to bottom, and some of these form part of ruined churches.

In Suffolk, forty-one round towers still exist. If these towers be chartered on a map it will be noticed that the majority of them are grouped in the north-east corner of the county, about the estuarine con­fluences of the rivers W aveney and Yare.

138

ROUND TOWEP.S 139

The largest circular tower in England is that of Wortham, Suffolk, which is 29ft. in diameter externally, and 6oft. high. Unfortunately it is now in ruins. A feature of the round tower at Thorington, Suffolk, is the tall but shallow arcading, which surrounds it about x6 ft. from the ground. It is formed entirely of rubble, of which the tower is built, and may well be pre-Conquest. Nearly all round towers have had later windows inserted in them, and most of them have upper storeys constructed in medi:eval times. The earliest is probably that at Ashby, Suffolk. This for two-thirds of its total height is a gradually tapering octagon constructed in brickwork.

Only two of these round towers have buttresses. That at Ramsholt, Suffolk, which in plan is more oval than round, has three buttresses­north, south and west. That of Beyton, Suffolk, two-south and north-west.

The three Sussex round towers are all to be found in the valley of the Ouse, and situated on the west bank of the river in each case. The three churches that have these towers are St. Michael's, Lewes, South­ease and Piddinghoe. All are situated on high ground, though that of Lewes is not seen from a distance, as it is so shut in by the other build­ings of the High Street, but Southease and Piddinghoe are visible to each other. One theory advanced to account for their construction is that in the days when the Ouse was wider and more used for traffic than it is to-day, they served as beacon towers. This may be possible, as a glance at the map shows that these three churches are in a direct line, and the light from each would be quickly picked up, though there are no signs of where a beacon would be displayed. These three towers do not contain ringing peals of bells, Lewes and Southease hav­ing but two bells, and Piddinghoe three.

Of the Norfolk round towers, the bulk of them have but one bell, while several hold two, three and four bells. The following briefly describes the rings of five and over. Acle, which has a round base and octagonal belfry stage, had its tower restored and bells increased to six in 1933· It also has a Sacring bell and clock. The tower is probably unique, insomuch as the bells hang in tiers in a new steel frame, which in its turn is suspended from a steel tower which has been erected in­side the walls of the old tower by Boulton and Paul Ltd., of Norwich. It is believed to be the only instance in England where a steel tower has been erected in such circumstances. It is about 35 ft. high and 10 ft. square and braced completely. The new treble was by Gillett and Johnston, and the rest are dated 1623, except the fifth, which is by John Brend, and dated 1654. The tenor weighs 9 cwt. I qr. 19lb.

TOWERS AND BELLS OF BRITAIN

As/acton, St. Michael's, has a ring of five dating from 16o7 (treble, 2

and tenor) and 1614 (third and fourth). Bedingham, St. Andrew's, round tower, which has an octagonal top, also has five bells, tenor about 7 cwt. They are a mixed lot, the treble being by J. Taylor, 1842; second by John Goldsmith, 1710; third by Pack and Chapman, 1778; fourth by John Brent, sen., 1573; and tenor a medi:eval bell, with a queer, unintelligible inscription.

Brooke, St. _Peter's, round tower, believed to date back to the reign of King Stephen, and restored in 1908, contains six bells, which were rehung in 1910. Except the fourth, which is a pre-Reformation bell by Brasyer, of Norwich, they are by Joseph Mallows, of East Dereham, and dated 1758. The fifth has this very apt inscription:

"Come rais us well and ring us right, Then all that hear will take delight."

Gissing, St. Mary's, has five bells, the second, third and fourth by John Darbie, of Ipswich, 1670, and others by William Dobson in 1832.

Forncett's round tower has five bells, restored by J. Taylor and Co. in 1938. The first three are dated 16o2, the fourth 1737, and tenor 1783. The latter weighs 13 cwt. 12lb.

Haddiscoe, St. Mary's, round embattled tower, of Saxon and Norman date, contains five bells, rehung in 1890. The tenor is about 7 cwt.

lntwood, All Saints', has a tower with round base and octagonal belfry storey, and contains five bells placed here in memory of Clement William and Mary Anne Unthank by their children. Originally there was one bell by Thomas Newman, 1737·

Kirby Cane, All Saints', round tower, was restored in 1925, and it has five bells, the treble and tenor dated 1626, second and third by Edward Tooke, 1677, and the fourth recast 18u.

Norwich, St. Mary Coslany, has an ancient west round tower, and during restoration work in 1909 four Saxon windows were discovered in it. It had six bells, now removed to a modern church. As early as 1552 there were five bells here, "whereof one was called a gabriel bell and weighed one cwt., the others weighed 5, 8, 10 and 12 cwt."

St. Mary's is the only six-bell tower in Norwich in which a peal has been rung. There is, or once was, a board in the belfry with the fol: lowing wording: "St. Mary's Parish. On Monday, Janr. 3rd, 1824, was Rung in this Steeple, Seven Peals of Grandsire Bob. Each Peal containing 720 changes called Seven Different Ways, the whole being

ROUND TOWERS

a compleat 5,040 changes in three hours and eight minutes. Without a bell out of course conducted by George Watering. And rung by the following persons: George Watering, treble, Thomas Roberts 2nd, John Thurtle 3rd, Robert Baxter 4th, James Ward 5th, Joseph Wild tenor. This tiiblet was erected to commemorate their science in ringing."

Norton Subcourse, St. Mary, has a ring of six bells, two being pre­sented in 1893 by the Rev. A. T. J. Thackeray, M.A., Vicar here 1885-1925.

Quidenham, St. Andrew's, standing on an eminence a short distance from the hall, has a west tower of flint and stone, round at base with octagonal belfry stage, and a spire. It contains eight bells and a clock. Tenor, 16 cwt., was presented by Lady Louisa Charteris and Mr. and Lady Augusta Noel, as a memorial to General George Thomas, sixth Earl of Albermarle, who died in 1B91. In the church are numerous memorials to this illustrious family. In 1494, William Erle of Quiden­ham gave by his will 12d. to the melting and repairing of the great bell. In 1552 there were three bells of 4, 6, and 8 cwt.

Great Ryburgh, St. Andrew's, tower is round at base and octagonal above, and has six bells, presented in 1891 by the Smith family. They are by J. Taylor and Co. and hang in an iron frame, the tenor being 12 cwt.

Saxlingham-Nethergate, St. Mary-le-Virgin, now has a square tower, containing eight bells, but this has_ replaced the ancient round tower, the foundations of which were revealed when workmen were digging a trench for drainage purposes. In 1899 the old six bells were recast and rehung. In 1901, two trebles were added by the Rev. R. W. Pitt, who also presented the organ.

Long Stratton, St. Mary's, round tower, with small spire, has a clock and six bells, the fourth of which was given by Sir John Sturmyn about 1340. It is inscribed "Thomas made me", to which is added a Nor­man-French legend, which enables one to fix approximately the date of the bell. Sir John Sturmyn, who caused it to be made, was lord of the manor in 1327. The original five were rehung and a treble added in 1904. The lower part of the tower is a century or so older than the church. There is also a clock bell inscribed, " t Sancta­Caterina ".

Tasburgh, St. Mary-the-Virgin, round tower dates from Saxon times. Of the old four bells, the third was dated 1598, and others 1613, 1631 and 1614. In 1900 J. Taylor and Co. recast the tenor and added a treble, making the ring to five, with a 9 cwt. tenor.

TOWERS ANb BELLS OF BRITAIN

Watton, St. Mary's (originally dedicated to St. Giles), also has a round-based tower with octagonal top. It now has a ring of six, aug­mented from the old three in 1899 by Mears and Stainbank. The tenor is 8 cwt. approximately. Woodton, All Saints', embattled round tower, with octagonal top, has a ring of six, the back five being by John Brend, 1641, and treble by Pack and Chapman, 1772. They were renovated and rehung in 1889.

Yaxham, St. Peter's, round west tower, the base of which is of pre­Norman date, has a ring of five, all by John Draper, 1621 to 1649. The third was recast by J. Taylor and Co. in 1844· .

Of the forty-one Suffolk examples, 15 have but one bell; 5 have two bells; II have three bells; 2 have four bells; 4 have five bells; and 4 have six bells.

Of the two latter, which are of more interest to ringers, Barsham, Holy Trinity, has five bells. It is an ancient building with thatched roof, and has a round Norman west tower. The ring was installed by Mears in 1893, and has a 7 cwt. tenor. Bramfit:ld, St. Andrew, has a detached round tower some 20ft. away from the church, containing a minor five, i.e., the first five of a ring of six. The back three are of the fifteenth century, by Henry Jordan, of London, and the two trebles are by Wm. Brand and his wife, Alice, of Norwich, and dated 1621. They were rehung in 1890 by Messrs. Day and Son, of Eye.

Brome or Broome, St. Mary, has a west tower round at the back with embattled octagonal top, and containing five bells. These bells are all by Thomas Newman and dated 1737. The upper part of the tower was rebuilt and the bells rehung in 1875 at the expense of Lady Caro­line Kerrison.

Burgh, SS. Andrew and Botolph, is picturesquely set on top of a steep bank, part of a Roman encampment. It is a small but ancient building of rubble and brick, and its embattled tower has a ring of six bells. Of the old five the fourth is inscribed "John Stephens, Bell Founder, of Norwich, made us five. 1718."

Hasketon, St. Andrew, has a Romanesque west tower, round at base, with octagonal belfry stage, containing a ring of six bells. Origin­ally five by Miles Graye in 1628, the second was recast by T. Mears in 1832. In 1899 a treble was added and third and tenor recast by Messrs. J. Taylor and Co. The tenor is 9 cwt.

Theberton, St. Andrew, has a ring of six by Moore, Holmes and Mackenzie, who recast the old three and made the augmentation in 1879. Wissett, St. Andrew, has six bells in its round west tower.

Before leaving Suffolk, it might be mentioned that the ancient _parish

ROUND TOWERS

church of Holy Trinity, Bungay, built in the eleventh century, has its round tower adorned with shields bearing the arms of Thomas de Brotherton, Earl of Norfolk and son of Edward I, and the Montacute, Bigod, Beauchamp and other families. This round tower is believed to be the oldest in England, dating from King Canute (1030). Its single bell bears an invocation to "Margareta". A fine bell was cast in 1566 apparently by John Brend, sen., and was sold by the parish in 1755 for £82 7s. 6d. The present bell was bought second-hand in 1759. As already mentioned Wortham, St. Mary, has a circular tower, the largest of its kind in England, and built some two centuries before the present church, but it is now in ruins. The single bell, by T. Osborn (1785), is placed in a wooden belfry at the west end.

Examples of round towers occur in Essex at Broomfield, Great Leighs, Lamarsh, South Okendon, Bradfield Saling or Little Saling, and Pentlow.

Broomfield, St. Mary, has a circular twelfth-century tower 15 ft. in diameter, with a conical roof rising into an octagonal spire. It has a ring of six by John Warner and Sons, erected in 1874-5 by H. C. Wells, of Broomfield Lodge. The tenor is 11 cwt. 18 lb. in G.

Great Leighs, St. Mary, has a ring of five, all by Miles Graye, 1634, with a tenor 12 cwt. in G. This tower is 17 ft. in diameter and also of the twelfth century. There was formerly a wooden house here, called "Bell-rope house", the rent of which went towards providing bell ropes.

Pentlow, St. George, round tower of the fourteenth century, has a ring of five, tenor about 10 cwt. The treble is by John Thornton, 1711, and all others by Miles Graye, 1628-166s. The other Essex churches named have one bell each.

Other round towers occur in Cambridgeshire, Berkshire, Surrey and Northants. Such round towers as occur at Banbury, Oxon. (10 bells) and Exeter, St. Dat1id (8 bells), both of which are illustrated in the late Rev. F. E. Robinson's Among the Bells, incline to the Georgian or Renaissance style of architecture.

OCTAGONAL TOWERS

HEXAGONAL and octagonal towers, unlike the round variety, are neither numerous nor yet confined to any district. If we include lanterns placed upon the tops of square towers, the number would hardly exceed fifty, which are distributed over seventeen counties. About twelve are central, as at Nantwich, Cheshire; and of others very few are octagonal from the ground up. They show, however, a diver­sity of form, from the pencil-like Fifield, Oxon., to the Sancton and Cox wold in Yorks. Yorkshire has some ingenious lanterns as is shown by those on the towers of St. Helen's and All Saints' Pavement, York. The latter is planted upon a very singularly plain square tower, and is designed with elongated two-light windows which fill each wall be­tween the delicate buttressing with their set of pinnacles and grotesque gargoyles, the parapet being one of those lace-like designs for which York masons were famous. These York lanterns are traditionally said to have been used to guide travellers through the forest of Galtres on their way to the city.

The majority of octagonal towers are of fourteenth-century date. There is, however, a hexagonal example of the twelfth century at Ozleworth, Glos. (anciently called Wozelworth), a village six miles from Charfield station. The church of St. Nicholas is in early Norman style, with chancel, nave. and south porch, and this unusual hexagonal tower rising between nave and chancel. It contains one bell dated 1809. (Ozleworth churchyard is the only round one in England.) Strange to say, the only other six-sided tower is also in Gloucestershire, i.e., at Swindon near Cheltenham. In this instance, however, all six sides are unequal in width. It has a ring of five bells, and the writer had the pleasure of chiming them during 1919 when stationed nearby in the Army.

Uffington, Berks., and Stanwick, Northants., are both of the thir­teenth century. Uffington church is known as the "Cathedral of the Vale " and is cruciform in plan, dating from 1216 to 1250, with a cen­tral embattled tower 16 ft. square. The tower is octagonal above the

144

OCTAGONAL TOWERS 145

roof and formerly was surmounted by a spire. It is of three stages above the eaves of the roof; the lower stage square weathering back at the angles, with two octagonal stages above, and terminating in an embattled parapet with crocketed angle pinnacles. There is a pro­jecting polygonal newel stairway in the north-west angle, carried across the angle of the nave and north transept. This tower has a ring of five bells dating from 1(}s7. The spire was destroyed by lightning 211d Dec., 1740.

Stanwick, Northants., tower is octagonal from its base, with flat clasp­ing buttresses at the angles, but is so contrived on the east side that a square surface is presented to the body of the church; the angles being occupied at different levels by vices-or circular stairways-to the bell chamber. The lower stair in the south-east angle goes no higher than the roof of the aisle to which it gives access, but from this level a stepped passage in the thickness of the wall is taken across the tower­arch to the upper stair in the north-east angle. The latter is carried up as an engaged turret nearly the full height of the upper stage and opens to the bell chamber by an elegant pointed arch springing from moulded corbels. The upper (or bell chamber) stage is slightly set back. The spire has ribbed angles, and three tiers of gabled openings on the cardinal faces. The total height of tower and spire is 156ft. It contains five bells.

Many octagonal towers have their windows only on the cardinal sides, the alternate chamfers being hidden by pinnacles or turrets, as at Lowick, Stafford, Upwell, and Tong; the latter completed by a pyramidal spire.

The octagon was often used to bridge over the awkward join be­tween a square tower and an octagonal spire, as at Bayton and Pat­rington, Yorks.

Lancashire has four towers of the fourteenth-century date at Aughton, Halsall, Ormskirk, and Standish (rebuilt), all small square towers with chamfered tops to meet the octagon which forms the base for a spire. The first three have alternate lights; Standish, however, has a two-light window to every side.

Nantwich, Sancton, Coxwold, and Colyton have the same, except where a vice is taken up one side. St. Mary, Masham, Yorks., is an­other example.

The finest example of a central octagonal lantern in England is Alan of W alsingham's famous building at Ely Cathedral, erected upon the fall of the Norman tower. In such a position where it is engaged com­pletely in the church, and has a mass of building at the junction of the

L

TOWERS AND BELLS OF BRITAIN

nave, choir, and transepts for its base, the octagonal form is appropri­ate, graceful, and thoroughly satisfying. It is in combination with other forms that the octagon is-as a rule-most effective. There is no finer oc richer form of steeple than the square tower with an octagonal storey superimposed, and especially when the transition from one form to the other is masked by pinnacles with flying buttresses. St. Mary, Stafford, has an effective tower of this kind, though in this case the fly­ing buttresses at the angles are wanting. This church is a large and fine cruciform building in Transitional Early English and later styles. The tower is square a short distance above the roof, then it becomes octagonal by angular weatherings decorated by rich pinnacles and finished by a panelled parapet, and crocketed pinnacles at the angles. Formerly it was surmounted by a spire which was blown down by a violent storm 21 March, 1593-4, partly destroying the church in its fall. Besides the ten bells it contains, there is a Sanctus of 1622.

Boston-as already stated-is one of the best examples of a western tower with upper octagonal lantern, and several very good western towers of Northants. churches show a similar arrangement on a smaller scale at lrthlingborough, Lowick and Fotheringhay.

Irthlingborough is described under " detached towers " which see. At Lowick the beautiful west tower is of early fifteenth-century date

and of four stages with a vice in the north-west angle. It is surmounted by a lofty octagonal lantern which rises behind the parapet and is sup­ported by flying buttresses from the four great angle-pinnacles. These pinnacles are raised so as to be nearly as high as those of the lantern. All twelve pinnacles are furnished with weathercocks. The tower has six bells dating from 1619-1896.

At Lostwithiel in Cornwall is a fourteenth-century octagonal tower with a spire placed upon a thirteenth-century\ base. It is French in design with eight gabled double-lighted windows, transomed by a band of carved tracery. Since its restoration by Street in 1883 it is decidedly more Frenchified, and although beautiful lacks the charm associated with the best English work.

In East Anglia at least fifty of the old round towers have had octagonal belfries added to them.

St. Paul's church, Brighton, Sussex, tower has an octagonal summit crowned with pinnacles and a short spire. It has a ring of eight bells and a large bourdon of two tons.

The old parish church of St. Peter, Liverpool, stated to be the first of its kind to be built in Lancashire after the Reformation, was founded in I7oo and consecrated in I704: It has a square tower with octagonal

OCTAGONAL TOWERS 147 upper stage. A somewhat similar instance occurs in the tower of Portsmouth Cathedral, where the octagon is surmounted by a cupola. St.Lohn's, Wakefield, Yorks., has a square tower, with octagonal stage, then a round upper storey following somewhat the Renaissance type.

Not a few octagons are crowned by a spire, and the succession of a square tower, octagonal stage and spire, if the transition from one to the other is skilfully arranged, presents a varied and pleasing oudine. St. Michael's, Coventry (whose cathedral church is now-alas-in ruins from the terrible blitz of war), shows this arrangement on a large scale, and there are several smaller but very good examples in Northants. and Rutland. Nassington and Wilby may be quoted in the former county, and Exton in the latter. The combination of an octagonal upper storey with a round tower has already been mentioned, and they are particularly common in the districts about Norwich and Yarmouth. Typical examples occur at Acle; and Potters Heigham in Norfolk, and at Brome in Suffolk.

At Ranmore Common, Surrey, is a good modern (1859) cruciform church with a central octagonal tower and spire which contains a ring of eight bells by Mears, tenor 20 ~ cwt. A similar central octagonal tower and spire occurs at Grosmont, Mon. : which has a ring of six bells. Doulting, Somerset, is a large cruciform edifice in Early English, Decorated and Perpendicular styles, with central embattled octagonal tower and spire containing six bells. In 18~ the tower was restored and the spire replaced stone for stone.

Bakewell, Derbyshire, church stands on an eminence above the prin­cipal part of the town, and is a large cruciform embattled structure with central tower rising from a square lower stage into a battlemented octagon, finished with an elegant and lofty spire. The octagonal stage was erected at the end of the fourteenth century on an Early English base. In 1825-6 the spire was removed and in 1830 the tower also, owing to the unsafe condition of the fabric. In 1850 the whole was restored, and there is a good ring of eight bells with a tenor of 17 ~ cwt.

Pakenham, Suffolk, has a fine cruciform church of flint standing on an eminence. It has a central tower, the lower stage being square and of Norman date, and an octagonal upper stage probably of fourteenth­century date. It contains a ring of five bells, tenor 14 cwt., dating from 1620-1872.

A somewhat similar tower, but in this case a western one, is at Upwell, St. Peter, Norfolk, where the two lower stages are square and the upper stage octagonal. Here is a ring of six bells dating from 1613 to 1&Js, when the tenor was added by Mears. Another unusual tower

TOWERS AND BELLS OF BRITAIN

of this kind is at St. Michael, Shrewsbury, where a two-tier narrow octagon crowns a square base. There are six bells by T. Mears given in 1830 when the church was erected, the tenor being 8 cwt. The late Mr. Walters, M.A. F.s.A., in his notes says: "They are hung in two tiers in the somewhat attenuated steeple."

An elegant central octagonal tower crowns the church of St. Chad, Gateshead. At Cogges, Oxon., there is a singular Decorated tower placed diagonally at the west end of the north aisle, square in the lower stage, but octagonal above with a conical roof. It has three bells. An­other Oxfordshire octagonal tower is at Standlake, which although very small, being but 8 ft. 6 in. across, has a ring of six with a tenor of 11 cwt. These are ingeniously hung in a three-tier iron frame, the fourth and fifth being at the bottom; the sixth and first in the middle; and second and third on top. Nevertheless the ropes fall in a proper circle, and the tower is steady while the bells are rung. This work of hanging the bells was done by Mr. Richard White of Appleton in 1932.

All Saints' Church, Wickham Market, Suffolk, stands on a hill, and is built of flint and stone in the Decorated and Perpendicular styles. It has an octagonal tower surmounted by a spire covered with lead, and rising to a height of 120 ft. There are six bells rehung in 1883, and dating from I60I, and a small bell is hung outside on the spire. At Datchet, Bucks., there is an octagonal tower with spire at the east end of the north transept. It has a clock and five bells. When the church was rebuilt in 1858 the bells were hung by the builder in a deal frame. The oscillation proved so great that they could not be rung! There­fore the clerk (a blacksmith) made a chiming apparatus by which they are now sounded. A very similar octagonal tower and spire is at St. John the Evangelist, Upper St. Leonards-on-Sea, erected in 188I and containing four bells.

At Hodnet, Salop, is a very roomy octagonal western tower where the old six bells used to be rung left-handed (i.e., anti-clockwise) and in the order 1-2-3-4-6-5. This arrangement was rectified when the bells were made into eight and rehung in a new iron frame by J. Taylor and Co. in 1931.

Hornby, Lanes., has an embattled western tower which is also octa­gonal, and this with the chancel was built by Sir Edward Stanley, second Lord Monteagle-after the Battle of Flodden Field, 9 Sep., 1513. It has a ring of eight bells, tenor 10 cwt. 1 qr. 7 lb., rehung by Taylor 1934·

At Barton, St. David, Somerset, the embattled octagonal tower stands at the angle formed by the north transept and the chap.cel. It

OCTAGONAL TOWERS 149

was restored in 1909 and has a ring of five bells which were restored in 1911. Another Somerset tower of this type is at Bishop's Hull, where the church of St. Peter and St. Paul dates from about 1300. Its ancient octagonal tower has a clock and six bells.

All Saints', Dilhorne, Staffs., has a western octagonal tower with a ring of six bells by Taylor. Old Brentford, Middlesex, church of St. George, erected 1887 in place of an earlier church built in 17~, has an octagonal bell tower with six bells dated 1913.

St. Mary, Dudleston, Shropshire, churchyard has many ancient yew trees and in one of them at one time the church bell was hung, when the church had become dilapidated. It was rung from thence at service time. Here is an octagonal tower with short pinnacles and it contains one bell.

W etheral, Cumberland, has a western octagonal tower, finished with battlements and pinnacles. By its side is an octagonal stair turret rising to the second stage.

All Saints', Ba!(ewell, Derbyshire

This document is provided for you by

The Whiting Society of Ringersvisit

www.whitingsociety.org.ukfor the full range of publications and articles

about bells and change ringing